The changes have certainly not helped, in terms of giving us the continuity that we have desired and needed," tutur Gary Al-Smith.

Masalah Visa Thomas Partey

Al-Smith juga mengungkapkan bahwa otoritas sepak bola Ghana sebenarnya sudah mengantisipasi adanya kendala terkait masalah hukum Thomas Partey sejak babak kualifikasi.

"Ever since his [Partey’s] issue started, we knew that once we qualified for the World Cup and we had been drawn against England, there would be trouble and headlines," ucap Gary Al-Smith.

Pihak federasi dikabarkan telah melakukan berbagai upaya mitigasi, namun tidak menduga tindakan tegas yang diambil oleh pemerintah Kanada.

"What they did not foresee was the action of the Canadians.

They had got some assurances from somewhere that nothing was going to happen because it is a World Cup," kata Gary Al-Smith.

Selain masalah visa pemain, rencana pemerintah Ghana untuk memberangkatkan suporter langsung dari Afrika juga batal karena kendala anggaran ekonomi yang berat.

"When I interviewed President Mahama last year he told me that the government will not spend money on taking Ghanaians abroad and that they will engage the private sector to do so," cetus Gary Al-Smith.

Pemerintah akhirnya mengubah strategi dengan mengalihkan fokus dukungan kepada komunitas diaspora Ghana yang berada di kota-kota besar tempat pertandingan berlangsung.

"But a few weeks ago, in London, he announced the plan had changed as the government didn’t think that was value for money.

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Instead they would locate the Ghanaian communities in the major cities of the diaspora, like Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and Toronto and, through some mechanisms, tickets will be given to them to support the team instead.