Copyright ghanamma
Former Sports Minister Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to avoid repeating past mistakes that cost the nation top talents such as Danny Welbeck and Gerald Asamoah. Speaking on Channel One TV, Vanderpuye criticised the growing resistance toward inviting dual nationals who did not feature in Ghana’s World Cup qualifiers, arguing that such attitudes weaken the Black Stars. He cited the examples of Welbeck and Asamoah as evidence of Ghana’s poor handling of dual-eligible players in the past. “We are making a mistake,” he said. “We had the same opportunity when we had Gerald Asamoah, and he went and played for Germany. We had the same opportunity with Daniel Welbeck⦠England fielded him against us and we lost him.” Asamoah said in an interview that his decision to represent Germany followed what he described as a âshockingly negative’ reception during a Ghana camp, where he was not fielded in a friendly â an incident the player viewed as disrespectful. Vanderpuye further argued that Chelsea’s Joshua Kofi Acheampong represents another major opportunity Ghana cannot afford to waste. “Today, there is this boy playing for Chelsea, [Josh] Acheampong. To me, he is better than all our defenders. Bring him, he is a Ghanaian,” he added. He urged the GFA to be proactive and inclusive in its approach to dual nationals, saying Ghana’s future success depends on embracing every player willing to represent the country.
