A Former Director of the National Sports College, Dominic Asabia has said that Ghana cannot succeed in football if the current trend of relying on only foreign based players continues.
According to him, there must be a deliberate attempt to groom and train players to successfully blend with players who ply their trade outside the country.
Mr. Asabia, explained that at the time Ghana qualified for the first world cup, the country had many players who were groomed in Ghana and were exposed to various conditions that made them to shine than their current counterparts.
“We cannot have players that are manufactured outside Ghana to come back to Ghana and play for us. Most of the players that are playing are manufactured outside Ghana and if you look at our history, anytime we do well at the national level, we have people who have been selected, trained and hardened in Ghana,” he stated.
According to him, the Black Stars players after some minutes of play against Cape Verde, looked tired as though they are not Africans.
“That’s what’s missing now. We have the quality but on under what conditions are they prepared? The weather is a factor in football. Most of these players, you took them to Cote D’Ivoire, they were suffering. As if they weren’t Africans”.
In the Black Stars Setup in Ivory Coast, to take part in the ongoing African Cup of Nations, there is only one Ghana based player who is yet to have some minutes to wear the national colours after being invited.
The comments by Mr. Asabia trail a 2:1 defeat Ghana suffered in the hands of Cape Verde in their group B AFCON opener on Sunday.
Ahead of their next match against the pharaohs of Egypt, the former administrator who was speaking Monday on the State of Our Nation noted that the Stars lacked the sense of urgency.
For Ghana to reclaim it’s past glory, he believes the country will have to go back to the academy system to properly groom players.
“For Ghana to succeed, there must be a blend of local breed and those who ply their trade outside the country. Those who ply their trade outside the country, only a few, I can only see commitment on the part of this Bedi’s sons. But most of them when they come, they preserve their limbs for the dollars”.
