Player call ups not influenced – Black Stars coach

Charles Kwablan Akonnor, Head Coach of the Senior National team the Black Stars, says he is solely in charge of player selection downplaying assertions of external influences on his call ups.

The experienced coach made this revelation during a call up of 30 players who would partake in Ghana’s international friendly encounter against Morocco on June 8 and against the Elephants of Ivory Coast on June 12th, 2021.

According to the coach, selection to the national teams was based on players who play regularly, commitment to the national team and emphasized the input made by other technical team members.

“I am my own man, we have a poll of 40 players to select from and I have called 30 of them. I am the coach, and am the one who is in charge of the call ups. Of course football is not made by one person alone, I have my assistant and video analyst who looks at players who fit into what we want to do,’’ he said at a presser held at the GFA’s Secretariat on Wednesday.

Akonnor pleaded with the media to stop negative reportage around them as they set sights on winning the next Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Cameroon as well as qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“We need the support of the media. The negativity is just too much and I am pleading with all of you to stop the negativity and start believing in us and be positive about the things we do. You can criticize us constructively and would find the right channel to deal with it,’’ he stated.

Below is the 30-man squad for the two international friendly matches:

Goalkeepers: Richard Ofori (Orlando Pirates), Razak Abalora (Asante Kotoko), Ibrahim Danlad (King Faisal)

Left back: Baba Abdul Rahman (PAOK), Gideon Mensah (Vitoria Guimaraes)

Right back: Andy Yaidom (Reading FC), Philemon Baffuor (Dreams FC)

Centre back: Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg FC), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City), Ismail Ganiyu (Asante Kotoko), Joseph Adjei (Legon Cities), Nicholas Opoku (Amiens FC)

Midfield: Mubarak Wakaso (Shenzhen FC), Thomas Partey (Arsenal FC), Kudus Mohammed (Ajax Amsterdam), Rashid Nortey (Medeama SC), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Steadfast FC), Emmanuel Lomotey (Amiens SC), Gladson Awako (Great Olympics), Baba Idrissu (RCD Mallorca)

Left Wing: Samuel Owusu (Al-Fayha FC), Emmanuel Gyasi (Spezia), Frank Acheampong (Shenzhen FC), Tariqe Fosu Henry (Brentford FC)