'Decision to drop players from final squad wasn't easy' - Paa Kwesi Fabin

Head coach of the Black Starlets of Ghana Paa Kwesi Fabin has disclosed how difficult it was for him to drop four players from the final squad for the FIFA U-17 World Cup slated for India from the 6th to the 28th of October.

25 players were selected for the training camp in Abu Dhabi but according to the FIFA rules, 21 players were to be presented as the final squad for the tournament and Paa Kwesi Fabi had the arduous task of picking his final team.

Speaking to Happy FM’s Odiasempa Kwame Oware, who doubles as the team’s media officer, Paa Kwesi recounted how difficult it was for him to prune down the team.

“The most difficult thing in my coaching career is to drop some players for a competition. This is because you will be with them for a while and unfortunately, they get dropped. In fact, it was difficult for me but the requirement demands that we present 21 players to FIFA out of the lot. The whole technical team conferred on the final selection of the players but I must admit it was a very difficult task.” Paa Kwesi Fabin revealed.

He advised the four players who were dropped from the squad to not give up but rather fight hard for successive competitions.

“I will tell them never to give up because they have been dropped from the squad who will represent the nation in India, but they should rather draw inspirations from Samuel Inkoom who was dropped from Starlets squad on so many occasions but he never gave up and eventually became an integral part of the Black Satellites team that won the African Under 20 Championship and the World Cup in 2009 which was staged in Egypt and later became part of the Black Stars team. Their elimination from the squad should motivate them to work harder for the various age competitions like, U-20 and the Olympic team. It’s never late for them. As under 17 players, they have a long way to go," he told Happy FM.

The following players were dropped from the squad;

Evans Sarfo-Asakwa Deportivo

Emmanuel Antwi-Charity Stars

Rudolph Blagogee-Maamobi Stars

Isaac Antah-Young Wise