Normally when the success story of the Black Stars is told, the constant names you hear are Ohene Gyan and the legendary coach Charles Kumi Gyamfi who started Ghana's dominance of African football.
These two iconic figures are mostly revered by Ghanaians for the special role they played in lifting the Black Stars high by playing in four Africa Cup of Nations finals in the space of ten years (1963, 1965, 1968, and 1970) by winning two of them in the 1960s.
Fred Osam-Duodu and Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie held the fort by winning the 1978 African Cup of Nations but not much is said about the man who started the Black Stars building process for the success the national team enjoyed in the 1960s.
You hardly hear about the man who started the Black Stars project a year after Ghana's independence from the British in 1958 and CK Gyamfi played under him.
Today we profile, George Ainsley, the first coach of the Black Stars in this episode of the GhanaWeb Feature.
The late George Edward Ainsley was an English coach born on April 15, 1915, in Leeds, England.
George was also a former footballer who played as s striker for his local side South Shields St. Andrews before joining Sunderland in April 1932.
He also played for Bolton Wanderers, Leeds United, and Bradford Park Avenue before hanging his boots in 1949. The English forward scored 56 goals in 159 career appearances but he never played for the Three Lions of England.
Coaching career
George Ainsley started his career at the touchline right after hanging his boots in the early 1950s to coach the football team at Cambridge University after returning from his short coaching adventure in India.
He also handled the Norwegian club, SK Brann, for three years. In 1958, he made his way to the Western part of Africa to start the Black Stars project while Ghanaians were still trying to find their feat after independence in 1958.
But his stint with the Black Stars was not largely successful after he was shown the exit door after just a year with the Ghana national team in 1959.
Aside from Ghana, he also coached Pakistan (1959–1962), Israel (1963–1964), Workington (1965–1966), and USL Dunkerque (1971).
He didn't win any trophy as a coach in his 16 years coaching career. George Edward Ainsley died in 1985 at the age of 70.
Author: Joel Eshun
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Former Black Stars coach, George Edward Ainsley