I’m sacrificing my coaching career to protect Kurt Okraku – Karim Zito

Ghana U19 head coach Abdul Karim Zito has revealed that he is sacrificing his coaching career to protect Ghana Football Association President Kurt Okraku.

The U20 Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach from 2021 believes he is more than qualified to be part of the Black Stars technical team but has never applied for the position.

Zito added that if he had applied for the coaching role of the four-time African champions, it would have significantly affected Okraku, to the extent of causing him severe distress.

He did not apply for the Black Stars job when it became vacant in January this year. Zito explained that if he had been involved with the team during the 2023 AFCON, the criticism of Okraku would have been even more severe.

"When we failed at the AFCON, there were insults all round. Applying for the Black Stars job would have been like adding salt to the wound. Imagine if people heard that Zito had applied for the job—Kurt would die. He’s a human being. I don’t want him to die, so I had to say no, even if it meant harming my own career,” Zito told Joy Sports.

"I know I am qualified [to manage the Black Stars], but I didn't.  Results make a good coach, and I keep getting the results. The criteria they brought—I qualified. I’ve been coaching since 1988. What more do I need to prove?.

"Even those who set the criteria—I was coaching before some of them were born. Why did Maxwell [Konadu] get the job, why did [Ibrahim] Tanko get it, but not Zito? If it's about qualifications, I qualify. But this is Ghana, so I have to think carefully before applying for anything."