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Soccer News of Thursday, 31 May 2007

Source: GFA

Meteors off to Nigeria

Male Olympic team coach, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio has left the Ghanaian capital, Accra with a 17-man playing squad for Saturday’s African qualifiers for the 2008 Olympic Games football tournament.

Udinese attacker, Asamoah Gyan is the only player yet to join the Black Meteors.

Ghana play away to African rivals, Nigeria, in Abuja on June 2 in one of Group A’s scheduled fixtures.

The Black Meteors head into Saturday’s crunch African derby game coming from the back of three impressive victories in warm up games, a feat which inspires team coach, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio.

“We are very happy with the way things have gone so far with our preparation in Togo. We had the whole stadium to ourselves which helped our work.

“Victories over the three crack Togolese team’s gives us hope that we moving on in the right direction,” Jones told the FA’s website after Tuesday’s training session in Accra.

The team’s intensive tour saw them play three test games which produced all wins over the local component of the Togo national team, Etoile Filante and Port Authority Club.

The Olympic team has been bolstered with the five foreign-based players while the sixth, Asamoah Gyan links up with the rest of the team in Abuja to ensure Ghana’s Beijing qualification push.

Yao Kumordzi, Anthony Annan, Haminu Draman, Michael Helegbe and Prince Tagoe are all part of the Black Meteors squad.

Ghana, paired with West African rivals Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa begin the African qualifiers for the 2008 Olympic Games football tournament with an away fixture against Nigeria in Abuja.

The qualifiers will be played in a league format between June and March 2008.

Three group winners qualify for the final tournament at the Beijing Games.