Ghana Under-17 Soccer Team For Botswana

ACCRA, Ghana (PANA) - Twenty-two players of the national Under-17 soccer team, the Black Starlets, leave Accra on Thursday, for Botswana to participate in the African junior championships.

Three teams will be selected at the championships as Africa'srepresentatives in the FIFA/Coca Cola World Cup finals slated for Egypt in July.

Nana Sam Brew Butler, Ghana Football Association (GFA) chairman, told a press conference in Accra Tuesday that all arrangements concerning allowances and bonuses had been completed.

The players are: Sam Adjei, Theophilus Amuzu, Emmanuel Ajorgu and Owusu Afriyie, all of Accra Hearts of Oak. Others include, Dan Quaye, Aziz Ansah, skipper Gordwin Attram, Nii Ayi Hammond, Kingston Laryea, Osei Boateng and Awuley Quaye, who play for Accra Great Olympics.

Others are: Hamza Mohammed (Real Tamale United), George Blay(Sekondi Hasaacas), Emmanuel Yartey (Okwawu United), Yakubu Abubakari (Ghapoha Readers) and David Laryea (Dawu Youngsters).

The rest are: Michael Kofi, Abdul Razak (Mysterious Dwarfs), Johnson Adu (Mighty Jets), Owusu Ansah (Afienya United), Yusif Gariba (King Faisal) and Awel Mohammed (De Gaulle Stars).

According to Nana Butler, each player would receive 500,000 cedis after the preliminaries. The amount will increase to 700,000 cedis at the semi-final stage and 800,000 cedis if the team wins the trophy [1,988 cedis = 1 USD].

He said the GFA will raise 10 million cedis to augment whatever the players will receive during the championship.

On the exodus of juvenile players to foreign clubs, Nana Butler said the GFA had decided to institute certain measures aimed at protecting the boys till they reach the voting age of 18 .

He said the professional career of most of the boys are wasted by the foreign clubs which keep them in their junior teams.