A team of players and officials of the national U-17 male football team, the Black Starlets have arrived in Togo.
The team arrived in the city of Kegue where they will be based to participate in the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B U-17 championship.
Originally scheduled for Benin in 2020, the competition will now be hosted by Togo from yesterday to Monday, January 18, 2021 in Kegue.
Ghana has drawn a bye in a three-country group that also has Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire playing in Group B’s opener.
Guided by Coach Ben Fokuo, the former world champions will face the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria on Saturday at the Stade Municipal and follow up three days later with a clash against the Les Petit Éléphants of Côte d’Ivoire in their final group game.
Meanwhile, the team has been tipped to excel at the championship considering the skill, zeal and tenacity displayed in the course of preparation for the tournament.
The Vice Chairman of the Black Starlets management committee, Mr. John Ansah said the current generation of Starlets looks very promising, adding that the sky will be the limit if they maintain the seriousness they have shown so far.
Speaking ahead of the team’s departure on Tuesday, Mr. Ansah praised the team’s vision and mentality going into the competition assured Ghanaians will see the best U-17 side so far.
“I am very confident in the team we have selected for the tournament. The technical team has done a lot of work on the team, sharpening the rough edges to bring them to their very best.”
According to him, the team’s target was to qualify for the Africa U-17 tournament in Morocco later in the year.
He said the team’s main target was to qualify for the Africa championship, adding that, “when that was secured, we will switch our attention to winning the trophy.”
“This is a well-drilled side; I can bet that the next generation of Black Stars players would come from this team,” he added.
Ghana’s last AFCON showing came in 2017 in Gabon where they finished as runners up to eventual winners, Mali.
That performance in Gabon got the Starlets to the World Cup in India, where they reached the quarter-final after falling to Mali again.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
