[ 2014-01-17 ]

Nyantakyi's bombshell: FA to join in player selection
FA boss, Kwesi Nyantakyi, has stated categorically
that Coach Kwasi Appiah’s decision to settle for
only players who play regularly for their clubs
would be tampered with under extreme
circumstances.

Nyantakyi dropped the bombshell in an interview
with the Graphic Sports after the Glo-CAF Awards
in Lagos last Friday, insisting that the status
quo would be changed depending on the quality of
the player(s) involved.

“That rule will be tampered with with some
exceptions in exceptional circumstances. It all
depends on the calibre of the player involved, his
experience and input when he plays for the Black
Stars, then we can consider him,” he explained.

He stressed that there was a difference between a
player having a club and not playing regularly,
and not having a club at all.

“If you have a club and you don’t play, it is
different from somebody who doesn’t have a club
at all; that makes it difficult, and in that case
the coach has to explain why.”

He made particular reference to the former Stars
skipper, John Mensah, who had featured prominently
in recent debates regarding his quality vis-a-vis
the team’s defensive problems, describing him as
an asset to the nation in his active days.

“John Mensah is a very dependable central
defender; about the best in his position during
his playing days. If he is playing for a club
today and he is not even regular he can be
considered, but if he is not playing at all it is
dangerous,” he emphasised.

Nyantakyi also hailed the current craze of
transfers among Ghanaian players in Europe as a
positive desperation in a bid to catch the
attention of Coach Appiah ahead of the Brazil 2014
FIFA World Cup.

“I think it is a positive desperation because
they are all trying to catch the attention of the
coach and also maintain their form for the World
Cup. It is a positive move the players are
making.

“If you are in a club and you are not getting
enough playing time, it will show when you come to
the national team; but wherever you are, even with
a small club and you are getting playing time, it
has a better impact on the national team,” he
noted.

Nyantakyi, who doubles as the chairman of the
Black Stars Management Commitee, said the
situation was not peculiar to Ghana and,
therefore, encouraged players to move from big
clubs where they were not getting playing time to
small clubs where they would enjoy more playing
time.

“I hope the coach would select the best, and
whoever he selects to make up his final 23 I will
support it,” he assured.

He hinted that the FA would announce a
comprehensive package regarding the Stars’
roadmap to the 2014 World Cup, including scouts,
medical team, coaching staff, friendly matches,
and camping base, among others, in the next couple
of weeks.

“Our target is to go beyond the benchmark we set
for ourselves at the last World Cup
(quarter-finals). Personally, I’m even looking
forward to seeing Ghana become the first African
country to win the World Cup trohpy,” Nyantakyi
predicted.

Source - Daily Graphic

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