I hope to see at least three local players at the World Cup – Augustine Arhinful
Former Ghana international, Augustine Arhinful, says he does not subscribe to reserving a quota in the Black Stars team for locally-based players.
But he hopes to see at least three players who ply their trade in Ghana in Coach Otto Addo’s final squad for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
As the 2022 FIFA World Cup beckons, Black Stars Coach Otto Addo is expected to submit Ghana’s final 26-man squad for the Mundial in the coming days and there are concerns players on the domestic scene may miss out on the final list due to competition from Ghanaians playing their club football abroad.
The provisional 55-man squad already submitted by Otto Addo according to reports featured Salis Abdul Samed of Lens, Jeffery Schlupp, Samuel Owusu and Anderlecht’s Majeed Asimeru.
But Danlad Ibrahim of Asante Kotoko and Daniel Afriyie Barnieh of Accra Hearts of Oak have received strong advocates to be included in Ghana’s final team for the World Cup.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Kumasi based Nhyira FM, Augustine Arhinful disagreed with the call for places to be reserved for local players.
But adds that he is expecting at least three players based in Ghana to make it to Qatar based on merit.
“If you say, you want to have a quota, whether the local players are performing or not performing because there’s a quota for like five players to be in the team, I don’t think it will be the best thing to do,” he said.
“We should pick them based on merit and that will be up to the technical team because Barnieh, for instance, has been part of the Black Stars for some few matches and he is also the leading striker for the local national team.
“Like I told you, it is my hope and wish that, for the 26-man squad, we should get at least three local players to be included because not all the 26 players are going to play.
“So, if we take them there, they will get the experience and exposure of participating at the World Cup and that could be beneficial in the future.”