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GFA: Avram Grant 'almost certain' to coach Ghana after final ANC qualifier

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has told the BBC it expects to have a deal in place for Avram Grant to take over as the national team's coach after their final African Nations Cup qualifier against Togo on Wedesday.

Grant, 59, who guided Chelsea to the Champions League final in 2008, is set to officially take on the role for the Black Stars if a financial agreement can be reached with the GFA.

Grant -- currently technical director of Thai side BEC Tero Sasana -- would succeed Kwesi Appiah, who left the job after failing to guide the Black Stars out of the group stages at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

GFA president Kwesi Nyantekyie said that Grant's Israeli nationality is "an issue" concerning access problems to some North African countries, but says both sides are working on alternative solutions.

"In fact the holder of an Israeli passport will not only be denied entry into North African countries; he will be denied into some Arab countries. That is an issue," Nyantekyie said.

"He has brought an alternative way of dealing with it. There is a satisfactory arrangement to arrest with this threat. Very soon, in a matter of months we should clear that."

Nyantekyie confirmed Grant has been involved in GFA meeting in Ghana, stating: "Avram Grant is in Accra and we have had preliminary discussions with him. It is almost certain that we will reach an agreement. We will continue, and by the time we finish with our game against Togo, we should have an agreement in place."

The GFA president says Grant will be handed a two-year deal, and they are confident the former Stamford Bridge boss has the experience needed to land silverware for the Black Stars.

"He is a motivator," Nyantekyie said. "He has the capacity and skill to manage egos and top players and these are some of the challenges that the Black Stars team is going through. You remember that sometime ago, Avram Grant was the coach of a Chelsea team with four captains and he managed to do that and take them to the finals of the Champions League.

"He has the strength, he has a strong mentality. He feels in Africa most of the players lack the passion or the mentality even though they have the skill. We hope he will be able to instil these qualities so that we will win trophies when he takes charge of this team."

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