Ghana's Kwasi Appiah turning his back on football?

Former Ghana boss James Kwasi Appiah has revealed that he has decided to explore other working opportunities outside football, and appears to be turning his back on the sport...for now at least.

The former Al-Khartoum trainer has been without a club since exiting his post as Ghana head coach in December last year.

He was recently linked with a move back to Sudan, having been tipped for a move to Al-Hilal Omdurman.

“I’m not interested in talking about any football issues for now," Appiah said, as reported by Citisports. "I don’t know, maybe tomorrow I will change my mind, but for now I’m not interested.

“Most of the old players are blind now; some can’t even walk while some are really struggling for a living.

"If they had concentrated only on football, that would have been their end. So do they [who have issues with my decision] want my ending to be like such people?

"If I’m taken out of the Black Stars, won’t I do other businesses? My concentration is on other businesses I do," he added. "My concentration is not on football for now."

Appiah, 60, reigned as Ghana boss between 2012 and 2014. However, after losing his job following the Black Stars' poor performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the coach joined Al-Khartoum, with whom he stayed until 2017.

He made a return as Ghana boss in 2017 where his team's disappointing showing at last year's Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt led to his eventual exit last December.

“Our [old] footballers, I’m not saying they did not do well [with their earnings and other businesses during their playing days] but at the end of the day, if they started other businesses with part of the money they made from playing, they wouldn’t be looking up to football earnings alone by now," Appiah added.

"So in everything you do, if you rely on only one job, one day you can be sacked or the job can fade, then what becomes of you?

"So I was talking in relation to not depending on one job," he concluded. "I have never depended on one job, so if you leave one place, then you look at the other side too."

Appiah has been occasionally linked to Ghana Premier League giants Asante Kotoko, whom he represented during his playing days.