I am eligible to play for Ghana -Asante

Berekum Chelsea winger Solomon Asante says that he is eligible to play for Ghana, despite representing the Burkina Faso national team in a friendly against South Africa.

Asante, who was recently called into Ghana’s 30-man squad for the upcoming 2014 World Cup double header against Lesotho and Zambia as a replacement for the injured Albert Adomah, told footy-ghana.com that even though he played in that match, he never naturalized as a Burkinabe citizen.

‘I never naturalized as a citizen of Burkina Faso. I still have my Ghanaian passport which I used at the time. The Burkinabes wanted me to play for their national team but I kept hoping I will one day be called up to the Black Stars, so I ignored them. So there is no need for change of papers at all. I am eligible to play for the Black Stars.’

Asante, who won the goal king title during his time in the Burkinabe top flight with ASFAG Yennega, also told footy-ghana.com that even though he was hoping for a call up, he was taken by surprise that it had come this early.

‘With the way I am playing now, I always had the hope that I would get a call up, but I didn’t expect it this early. So when the squad was named and I wasn’t mentioned, I just kept hoping. The late call up surprised me but has made me very happy.’

The winger advised other locally based players to put in their best because no one knows when they could land a call up.

‘Now that locally based players have the chance, I would strongly advise my colleague local players to keep working very hard on the pitch. Look at me for example. I wasn’t supposed to be in the squad, but Albert Adomah’s injury has given me a chance. It means that any player could be called at any time. So my advice is for players playing in Ghana to continue working really hard.’