Black Stars Management Committee Chairman, Dr. Randy Abbey has emphasized the need to put Ghana’s “best foot forward” in the 2026 World Cup, amidst a national debate over a possible nationality switch for some foreign-born players who turned down Ghana.
English-born players, Eddie Nketiah of Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest forward Callum Hudson-Odoi, are reportedly expressing interest in representing Ghana at the tournament in USA, Canada and Mexico next June.
Francis Amuzu, who represented Belgium at the youth level, has also voiced his wish to represent Ghana after rejecting several invitations from previous coaches.
Their interests to play for Ghana have sparked widespread criticisms, with many describing those players as opportunists.
In an interview with Luv FM on the Sports Blitz Xtra, Randy Abbey acknowledged the sentiments of players feeling used for the World Cup qualifiers.
He said: “I think that we need to put our best foot forward. We all know that the World Cup is not next month, the World Cup is about seven or eight months away.
“When it becomes obvious that people just want to jump on a bandwagon because of the opportunity of playing at the World Cup, there’s a genuine feeling of you being used. So, I can understand some of those sentiments, but I don’t want to get involved in that debate.”
He also stressed the need for players to stay injury-free and in good form and suggested giving coaches the autonomy to make decisions based on their assessments.
“I would want to allow the coaches to make their recommendations to us. When it gets to that point, we can have a discussion and take a decision.
“But eight months is a long, long time away, and we want to put our best foot forward as far as the World Cup is concerned; we pray that our players stay of the injury list and are in good form ahead of the World Cup.
“If you look at the team that we even played in the last two matches, you will see that over time, there’s always been the introduction of some new players. Sibo just emerged, yes, he was being monitored, but until Elisha was ineligible to play as a result of the yellow card he had in the game against Chad, Sibo was not going to come for the Mali game, but he got that opportunity as a result of the unavailability of Elisha.
“He’s virtually getting himself a first in place. These things come up all the time. I think we should allow the coaches to do their work and make the recommendations for us,” said Randy.
About the Author
