The 2-0 defeat of the senior national football team Black Stars at the hands of Gabon in the World Cup/Cup of Nations qualifying series in Libreville last Sunday has shaken the very foundation of football in Ghana and it would be no exaggeration to say the Football Association is actually panicking.

Stand-in coach Sellas Tetteh who gave everybody hope for a bright season by steering the Black Stars to a remarkable 3-0 win over Libya in Kumasi, has understandably turned villain and it is not even clear whether he will be on the bench in the return match against Gabon in Accra on Sunday. The news that the FA has signed a two year renewable contract with German coach Guido Diego Buchwald has sent clear signals to Sellas Tetteh that he has overstayed his welcome.

It is learnt that the Football Association will be officially introduce the new coach to the public next Monday June 23rd that is a day after the Black Stars match against Gabon. But what is not clear is whether the German would arrive in Ghana in time to be at the stadium in an unofficial capacity even though most people prefer he should stay away so that Sellas Tetteh who will be singing his swan song that day would have calm nerves to direct affairs.

Ordinarily this match against Gabon would not have attracted much attention apart from an academic exercise to guess how many goals the Black Stars would score. Now the stakes are very high. Gabon showed in the first match they could play it tough and rough and can find the net too. The Black Stars certainly were not at their best. They on many occasions appeared too casual for such a high profile game and that perhaps is the reason stories are doing the rounds that there may be a rift between the players and coach Sellas Tetteh. The way winger Laryea Kingston booted the chair at the bench in frustration after his substitution may be an indication of the lack of camaraderie in camp.

Time is however short. We don’t have the luxury of time to be brooding over trivialities. This qualifying series is a marathon contest involving 48 nations. After the two leg series the 12 group winners and the eight best runners up will qualify for a second group stage comprising 20 teams that will be divided into five groups. From here the first five group winners will go to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the top three in each group to the 2010 Cup of Nations in Angola. We have a long way to go as there would a break after Sunday to make way for the Beijing Olympics.

At this stage of the qualifiers the Black Stars share the top spot with Libya with six points apiece but have superior goal advantage. Whilst the Stars will be battling with Gabon in Accra, Libya will clash with whipping boys Lesotho and the North Africans are poised to climb to the top if the Black Stars stumble. Considering the uncertainties in the Black Stars camp this is the time all stakeholders should come together and with a common purpose rekindle the hilarious spirits of Germany 2006 and Ghana 2008 and make the match against Gabon one to remember with fondness.

Popular opinion is that the FA has toyed with the technical direction of the Black Stars but since two wrongs don’t make a right lets all agree to disagree and with unity of purpose back the Black Stars to deliver the goods. The nation needs such a sporting victory to reduce the fast building tension on the political front