Ghana FA talking to Tariq Lamptey about nationality switch

The Ghana Football Association is seriously working to convince enterprising English-born Ghanaian footballer Tariq Lamptey to play for the Black Stars, an FA official has disclosed.

According to the GFA Executive Council Member, George Amoako, the national team’s department has already initiated the process for getting Lamptey to opt to play for Ghana at international.

Capped by England at the Juvenile level, the versatile 19 year old is eligible to feature for the Three Lions as well as the Black Stars.

The former Chelsea Youth player broke the internet yesterday following an excellent performance as a right full-back for Brighton & Hove Albion in their season opener against his former side.

Lamptey assisted Brighton’s only goal as they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat but his exciting play didn’t go unnoticed.

There have been several social media calls for the GFA to get him to play for Ghana, and now George Amoako who also doubles as the Chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee has confirmed such a process has been initiated.

He disclosed this in an interview with Kumasi based Nhyira FM.

“In fact when I was watching him (Lamptey) on TV…the first thing I did was to call a couple of people and it was clear that he will be a good player for our national team, the Black Stars,” Amoako told Nhyira FM.

The renowned football administrator has revealed that the process won’t be a smooth one.

“it is not going to be easy…the national teams department is making serious efforts to get his parents and the boy to agree to play for Ghana.

“But it is not going to be easy, I don’t want to sound like its impossible, but its not going to be easy.

“Most of the (Ghanaian) players born in Europe, if you want to entice them to come and play for Ghana, it is very difficult. They mostly aspire to play for their country of birth or host countries. Even their parents don’t opt for their children playing for Ghana,” he concluded.