Charles Gyamfi

Charles Gyamfi
Personal information
Full name Charles Kumi Gyamfi
Date of birth (1929-12-04)4 December 1929[1]
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Date of death 1 September 2015(2015-09-01) (aged 85)
Place of death Accra, Ghana
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1948 Sailors
1948–1949 Ebusua Dwarfs
1949–1954 Asante Kotoko
1954–1956 Kumasi Great Ashantis
1956–1960 Hearts of Oak
1960–1961 Fortuna Düsseldorf
International career
1950–1961 Ghana
Managerial career
1963–1965 Ghana
1972 Africa XI
1982 Ghana
1983–1984 Municipal Club
1984 Somalia U21
1988–1991 AFC Leopards
1992–1993 Ashanti Gold
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Ghana (as manager)
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 1982
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Charles Kumi Gyamfi (4 December 1929 – 2 September 2015) was a Ghanaian footballer and coach, who as a player became the first African to play in Germany when he joined Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1960,[2] and later became the first coach to lead the Ghana national football team to an Africa Cup of Nations victory.

Gyamfi had his primary school education at the Accra Royal School in James Town. As coach of the Ghana national football team, he won the African Cup of Nations three times (1963, 1965 and 1982), making him the most successful coach in the competition's history.[3] This record has since been equalled by Egypt's Hassan Shehata.[4]

Gyamfi was also the coach of the Ghana national football team during their Olympic debut at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[1] He returned to coach the Olympic team for the 1972 tournament.[1]

He was a member of FIFA's Technical Study Group for the 1999 and 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.[5][6]

In January 2008 he publicly lamented the modern obsession of players with money rather than the love of the game.[3] He died in September 2015.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Charles GyamfiFIFA competition record (archived)
  2. ^ Kofi Nsiah & Sabrina Schmidt. "50 years of Ghana National Football - The German Connection". German Embassy, Accra. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  3. ^ a b Farayi Mungazi (13 January 2008). "Ghana legend laments money culture". BBC News. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  4. ^ Hassanin Mubarak. "African Nations Cup-Winning Coaches". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  5. ^ "FIFA's Technical Study Group to evaluate tournament". FIFA. 2 April 1999. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  6. ^ "FIFA's Technical Study Group to evaluate tournament". FIFA.com. 15 June 2001. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015.
  7. ^ "C.K. Gyamfi: Legendary Ghanaian footballer and coach dies". BBC. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.