Kwesi Appiah wants to repay massive fans support with win over South Africa

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah says the Black Stars must reciprocate the gesture shown by the fans by defeating South Africa in Thursday's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.

The Black Stars has rapturous welcome on their way to Cape Coast for the match on Tuesday with hundreds of supporters turning up in the towns of Winneba and Mankessim to cheer the team ahead of the match against the Bafana Bafana.

The Ghana national side were also given ecstatic reception on their arrival in the coatal city of Cape Coast when the Group C match will be played.

The #BringBackTheLove campaign is designed to get the fans to get behind the Black Stars after a disastrous showing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in June.

Appiah says they must now repay the faith shown in them by the fans by winning the game massively to ensure that the support is sustained while keeping the Black Stars on course for another AFCON appearance.

"We really appreciate the support Ghanaian have shown us so far; right from Accra, Winneba, Mankessim and Cape Coast," the Ghana coach said at the pre-match press conference in Cape Coast on Thursday afternoon.

"It's now time for us to reciprocate by giving out our best to make our nation happy."

Ghana is paired in the same qualifying group with South Africa, Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe.

After Thursday’s game against South Africa, the Black Stars will travel to face Sao Tome and Principe in the second group game on Monday.

The Black Stars started their preparations on Monday evening before travelling to the coastal city of Cape Coast on Tuesday where the qualifying match will be played.

South Africa arrived in Ghana on Monday night to ensure early preparations for Thursday's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Bafana Bafana were originally scheduled to arrive in the Ghanaian capital on Tuesday but changed their plans to ensure early acclimatization.

This means they will have two days of preparations in Ghana before they take on the Black Stars to ensure they can give off their best in the game.

Ghana and South Africa met in June part of preparations for this year's Afcon, with the game ending 0-0 in the United Arab Emirates.

The last official match between the two sides was the qualifying campaign was for the 2006 Fifa World Cup where the Black Stars emerged top of the group.

Ghana recorded back-to-back wins over Bafana Bafana to qualify for their maiden World Cup appearance.

However Bafana Bafana have seen some revival for the past two years culminating in some good showing at the recent Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt.