Former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, has expressed confidence in the Black Stars ability to perform at the Qatar FIFA World Cup to bring honour to the nation.
The Black Stars will make a fourth FIFA World Cup appearance in Qatar in November/December after staging a magnificent display to outwit Nigeria in March for one of the five slots for Africa.
The former Asante Kotoko Chairman who supervised Ghana’s first qualification to the World Cup in 2006 in Germany says he expects players of the Black Stars to eschew selfishness and show team chemistry on the pitch during the Mundial.
Former President Kufuor spoke during a visit by the Ghana Football Association (GFA)led by its President, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku and other executives at his residence in Accra.
‘’We performed so well and our only trouble was suffering from stage fright. We could have won against Italy that eventually became champions of the world. We did well by beating the Americans and the Czech Republic.’’
‘’I support the Black Stars and I give the team all the blessings. I will pray for the team to win and perform to the honour of our nation.’’
‘’I believe the boys can do it; they have exposure and so stage fright should not be a problem at this tournament. A lot of times we tend to be selfish with our play so how we get the team to think together on the pitch must be some of the areas we must address.”
‘’The cache with our team in 2006 was the strength. You look at the captain, Stephen Appiah, characters like Sulley Muntari, Asamoah Gyan and you can’t just push them down easily, they were physically fit.’’
‘’One thing I pray you would ensure they go to the pitch with, is that this is a man’s game and opponents shouldn’t easily push us down. That doesn’t mean we should commit fouls all over the place but we shouldn’t be walkovers.’’
‘’We must be strong, smart and have stamina. We must work as a team and I’m sure we will come out with flying colours. You have all my blessings, prayers and support and I hope we make it past the group stage and continue to quarter finals, semi-finals and hopefully the finals.’’
‘’The nation awaits good news from our team’’ President Kufuor added.
Mr. Kufuor served as the President of Ghana for two terms and under his leadership, the Black Stars qualified for their first World Cup in Germany where Ghana suffered a second-round exit following a 3-0 loss to Brazil. –GFA
