It's sad to be mocked by your own country – Ibrahim Danlad on age cheating

Ex-Ghana U-17 and Berekum Chelsea goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim has expressed his disappointment over comments on ‘age cheating’ made by some Ghanaians during the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup which was hosted by India.

Danlad was mocked by some journalists and Ghanaians on social media prior and during the tournament because they felt his age didn’t match his body stature.

However, according to the young Asante Kotoko goalkeeper who plays on loan for Berekum Chelsea, his lack of concentration before the Mali game eventually led to the error, he made in the quarter finals for the Starlets to be eliminated.

In an interview with Accra based Angel FM, he indicated that all was well before the game till he had a call from his brother to check what was going on in the Ghana media space.

“I remember we were few days away from the match against Mali. I had a call from my senior brother telling me not to visit any social media handle before the game.”

“Our phones were with our manager so we could concentrate on the match, but out of curiosity I went for my phone to know the reason why my brother called”

“I was so sad to see my own countrymen tagging me with the age issues, teasing and making fun of me just because they thought I was more than 17years at that time and I lost concentration before the game” Danlad recounted.



The 17-year-old was one of the outstanding goalkeepers in the 2019/20 Ghana Premier League before the Coronavirus pandemic halted the league indefinitely.