Meteors? Trip Postponed Due To Tight Fixtures

The planned camping trip of the national Under-23 soccer team, the Black Meteors to Portugal tonight ahead of next month?s Olympic Games has been postponed to Monday.

The rescheduling follows problems the handlers of the team encountered putting together a squad to travel Tuesday.

Black Stars Team Manager, Alhaji Maikano confirmed to the Soccer Express Tuesday that the trip had been postponed to Monday, July 12.

Maikano cited the crucial Confederations Cup assignments this weekend for Liberty Professionals, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak and their inability to release their players as the reason for the postponement.

Indeed Accra Hearts of Oak confirmed yesterday that they wrote to the Ghana Football Association to request the release of their Black Stars players by 6pm last Monday and emphasised the fact that they would need all their players - with the exception Joseph Ababio who is not registered for Africa - for this weekend?s Confederations Cup tie with Senegal?s AS Douanes at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Hearts? Administrative Manager, Ashford Tettey-Oku confirmed that the Meteors Management Committee had been in touch with his club but no firm decision had been taken on the eventual release of Messrs Prince Tagoe and Daniel Coleman to the Olympic side.

Tettey-Oku conceded that Coleman was ineligible to feature in this weekend?s match due to a one-match ban but stated that the player was required to join his colleagues as their preparations are for the two-leg tie.

Asked if Hearts would release the players for the Meteors trip on Monday, the Administrative Manager said that would be dependent on the decision that would be taken after his management had consulted with the Meteors management committee, but he was emphatic that whatever decision would be taken would have to reflect the corporate interest of Hearts of Oak.

"The Confederations Cup is our last lifeline to the money zone this year and after missing out on the Champions League money zone we cannot afford to gamble with this chance," Tettey-Oku summed up what could well be the organised view of the Accra-based club