Ghanaian gospel musician, Nicholas Omane Acheampong, has opined that, the absence of local players in the senior national team has contributed to their misfortune on the global football scene.
The ‘Mahashala’ hit maker believes the team’s short comings are the results of God’s punishment.
He claimed that Ghana’s disastrous display and early exit at the ongoing tournament is also the result of concealed truth about Ghana football. “We can never hide the truth and no matter how well you cover it up, it has a funny way of revealing itself. I believe the disgrace we are experiencing as a nation on the football front is God’s punishment for the mishandling of the sport,” he told Happy98.9 FM’s Joe Debrah, host of Wamputu Sports.
Omane Acheampong questioned the commitment of the country’s football authorities, the Ghana Football Federation (GFA). He believes that the country’s football handlers fall short in monitoring every game at the local scene.
“The interesting games we play in our local leagues, is the FA well committed to them? How well do they monitor closely the activities of football on the local scene? Until we are able to give enough motivation for our local players to feel proud of the teams the play for; and for them to be encouraged that despite playing in the local league by receiving call-ups into the Black Stars, the team will never succeed,” he stressed.
He suggested that, Ghanaians need to do more to make the local leagues prestigious like it was once. “The local players need to be given much respect and appreciated for representing the local clubs.”
He further claimed, our local league players have the winning spirit with them, therefore including them in the Black Stars team is not an option anymore. “Almost 90% of our local players are not interested in the team anymore because they have accepted that, despite their determination and performances, they are never going to get that opportunity. Without them we would be disgraced at every tournament we participate. Even if by luck we reach the final, we will never win the ultimate trophy because we’ve left our people at home,” he added.
By: Jude Tackie
Visit www.yfmghana.com for mor