By Edna A. Quansah
Accra, Oct. 25, GNA – Former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor has asked the Black Stars players to eschew selfishness and play as a team as Ghana prepares for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup would see 32 countries battle for the coveted trophy from November 20-18.
As part of activities lined up ahead of the global showpiece, the Ghana Football Association, led by the President, Mr. Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku paid a courtesy call to the former President and presented him with the new Black Stars’ strips.
On his part, Mr. Kufuor said “I believe the boys can do it, they have exposure internationally and so stage fright should not be part of this tournament. What is left is for our side to play as a team. A lot of times we tend to be selfish with our play so how do we get the team to think together on the pitch and press toward the goal”.
He added that the players should be physically strong, smart, and have the stamina to not appear as pushovers on the field, citing the likes of Sulley Muntari, Stephen Appiah, and Asamoah Gyan who were solid on the pitch.
“We must be physically strong because our boys tend to fall too easily as far as I can see. The cache with our team in 2006 was the strength. You look at the captain, Stephen Appiah, characters like Sulley Muntari, Asamoah Gyan and you can’t just push them down easily, and they were physically fit”.
“One thing I pray you would ensure they go to the pitch with is, this is a man’s game and opponents shouldn’t easily push us down but that doesn’t mean we should commit fouls all over the place but we shouldn’t be walkovers”.
The former Asante Kotoko Chairman pledged his unflinching support to the Black Stars and believed the team would qualify from the group and travel to the finals.
He served as President of Ghana from 2001-2009 and was also the Chairman of the African Union from 2007 to 2008.
In his time, Ghana qualified for her first World Cup in 2006 in Germany where the Black Stars exited in the round of 16.
The Black Stars would be taking part in a record 4th FIFA World Cup finals after edging Nigeria out.
Ghana would begin her World Cup campaign against Portugal, before taking on Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
GNA