Satellites spin into trouble

Ghana's preparations for the World Youth Championship have been thrown into turmoil, with a European tour delayed and controversy over the exclusion of four key players.

Coach Emmanuel Afranie, who led the Black Satellites to the silver medal in the African championships in Ethiopia, has denied reports that the foreign-based players are planning a boycott.

It follows the exclusion of Ishmael Addo, Charles Taylor, Stephen Oduro and Stephen Tetteh from the squad to travel to Argentina for the Under-20 World Cup starting on June 17.

Afranie says the decision to drop the players was taken after careful consideration by the Ghana FA, and was due to their role in the senior national team.

It seems an unpopular move, however, with fans as the senior team have little realistic chance of progressing from the World Cup qualifiers.

Supporters have booed the coach, who the majority want sacked, and preparations have been further hampered by the delay over the European tour for unknown reasons, and it now looks unlikely to take place.