Black Stars To play Tanzania

The Ghana Football Association has confirmed that the Black Stars will play the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in Arusha in the build-up to their World Cup qualifier against Libya on September 5.

The game is due to be played on Wednesday, August 22, and the GFA is hopeful it can send Ghana’s best side for the match.

The game has taken on added importance for Ghana given that it will be the first time the country’s new coach, will meet many of the men he will be relying on as Ghana seeks to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The GFA said it settled on Tanzania because they had offered Ghana the most attractive offer on the free FIFA international date.

GFA vice-president Fred Pappoe said the Taifa Stars will offer the sort of tough, gritty opposition that the team has rarely faced in the build-up to major games.

Tanzania expect the Black Stars to travel to Arusha with their best players.

“We are happy with this build-up match because football lovers in the country will get an opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world,” Tanzania Football Federation spokesperson Florian Kaijage.

Ghana’s key players will most likely be slightly unhappy about having to make the trip to Tanzania so early in the start of their grueling European season, but Pappoe believes the game will pass off smoothly.