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Soccer News of Saturday, 30 December 2000

Source: Pat Opara

Ghana Call Off Friendly With Togo

GHANA's Black Stars, like their Nigerian counterparts the Super Eagles, may not be opportuned to have any form of friendly trials before taking on opponents in the Africa Nations Cup qualifiers.

The last minute bid by the Nigeria Football Association to get two friendly matches for the Super Eagles to sharpen their skills preparatory to the Nations Cup preliminaries was rendered futile when the football authorities in Cameroun and South Africa showed disinterest.

Cameroun claimed that its national team had too much on its schedule that there was no room left for a match between it and the Super Eagles. But the South African Football Association (SAFA) predicated its rejection on the point that it was not sure that it could raise a Bafana Bafana side this time around. They would not want to play Nigeria unless they has a full-strength Bafana Bafana.

A re-play of the trend has been witnessed in Accra as the proposed international friendly between the Black Stars and the Hawks of Togo was cancelled.

The match would have taken place today. A Ghanaian FA member, according to reports on the internet, has said that the match was not arranged by the FA but rather by a sports kit company with the intention of raising funds for a hospital.

Apparently to appease soccer fans, the FA member said that in place of the cancelled game, members of the Black Stars team would be split into two teams representing the northern and southern sectors of the country for a match in Accra.

This is also to give new coach Jones Cecil Attuquayefio the chance to assess all the players he intends inviting for the African Nations and World Cup qualifiers.

Attuquayefio moved over as the country's football coach after leading Hearts of Oaks to a successful CAF league campaign this year.

Players expected to be invited to camp include Samuel Osie Koffour, C.K. Ackunor, Otto Addo and Stephen Appiah.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Gargo of Udinese who after the CAN 2000 decided to stop playing for Ghana to enable him concentrate on club duties is expected to rescind his decision as series of meetings between the FA boss Alhaji Jawula and the playing body continues.

It is believed that Gargo will don the Ghanaian jersey once more, and it is hoped that Christian Gyan of Feyernoord will also rescind his decision and play for Ghana again.

Gyan also made it clear that he had resigned from the Black Stars after the CAN 2000 tournament and has since not being called up for any national assignment.

Other Ghanaian boys that the FA would be trying to convince to play for Ghana are Matthew Amoah of Vittese Arnhem who claims Ghanaian officials should invite him properly by sending his invitation to his team for his release, and Gerald Asamoah of Schalke who has taken up German nationality.

Gerald was once in Ghana for an African Nations Cup qualifier but wasn't used by then Black Stars coach Dossena.