The Ghana Football Association yesterday endorsed Frenchman Claude Le Roy as the new coach for the national soccer team, the Black Stars. 

This decision was taken at a meeting between the Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Papa Owusu-Ankomah and the GFA, led by its President, Kwesi Nyantakyi.

The Frenchman beat Ghana's veteran coach, "Sir” Jones Attuquayefio, who was short-listed with Le Roy, by the GFA"s search committee. 

According to sources close to the Ministry and the GFA, Le Roy’s demand for a 25,000 euro monthly salary and emoluments like bonuses, free accommodation, free vehicle and other fringe benefits that usually go

with such top coaching positions is “reasonable.”    

Our sources, however, declined to provide further information about Le Roy’s contract.

The meeting between the Minister and the GFA followed a report submitted by the Association’s search committee that was empowered to recruit a new coach after the resignation of Serbian Ratomir Dujkovic after the Germany 2006 World Cup.

The FA’s search committee settled on three out of over 47 applicants. The third applicant, Frenchman Phillipe Troussier, nicknamed the “white witch”, failed to turn up for the interview last Wednesday, with the excuse that he was attending to his “sick father”. He asked for a postponement of the interview but his request was turned down by the GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was the  chairman of the search committee.

Le Roy, 55, has had a long spell on the African continent, having coached Cameroon and Senegal. His finest moment came in 1988 when he led Cameroon to the African Cup of Nations title before returning to coach them at the 1998 World Cup in France.

Meanwhile, the President of the Ghana Coaches Association, Nana Kumi Gyamfi, told The Statesman yesterday his association would offer the new coach the necessary encouragement to enable him win honours for the nation.

“We’re prepared to offer him every technical advice that he would need to enable Ghana regain her lost glory”, he assured, adding that Ghanaians should also provide him with morale support to win the CAN 2008 and go to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.