AFCON 2019; Andre Ayew prioritizes qualification

Deputy Captain of the Black Stars, Andre Dede Ayew, says they are focused on qualifying for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations as they target maximum points against Ethiopia in the first round match of the qualifiers slated for the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on 8th June, 2017.

The Black Stars yesterday kicked started their preparations yesterday at the Accra Sports Stadium where Head Coach Kwesi Appiah held his first training session with the team.

Ayew in an interview with the media after their first training session reiterated the need to focus on qualifying for the AFCON as qualification to the 2018 World Cup would be very difficult even though not impossible.

“It will be very important to start the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign on a note. We have a goal which is qualifying for the 2019 AFCON and we must start by getting good results here and we know the bad results we had against Uganda made our World Cup campaign a difficult one even though is not yet over.

“But we have sidelined the World Cup agenda and now thinking about the game against Ethiopia where we want all three points and we’re going to work towards that,” Ayew noted.

The Black Stars will continue their training at the Accra Sports Stadium till Sunday as they are scheduled to depart to Kumasi on Monday.