Ghana and New England midfielder, Gershon Koffie says he is open to both Ghana and Canada call ups and that he will gladly accept invitation from any of these two countries.
Gershon was a member of the
2011 Black Satellites squad that competed in the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in South Africa but is yet to earn a call up into the senior national team, the Black Stars.
The former Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder who holds a Canadian passport is eligible to play for Canada as well. “I am a proud Ghanaian, was born and bred in Ghana. I have my Canadian passport and that is also good for me and my family.“If Ghana gives me a call, I will play; if Canada gives me a call, I will play”.
He said his focus for now is to give off his best for his new club since the decision to play for Ghana is not in his hands. “Ghanaians know I am a Ghanaian, but they have not given me a call yet; that is their decision. But if Canada decides to give me a call today, I will play for them”, Gershon noted.
Asked whether he had an encounter with Black Stars coach Avram Grant when he (Grant) last visited North America, the midfielder said “the Black Stars coach was in United States, he did not come to Canada even though, he knew Dominic Oduro and myself are in Canada”.
But why is Gershon Koffie still open to both Ghana and Canada options? “Like I said, I am a proud Ghanaian, born and raised in Ghana, but Canada has been good to me and my family since I came here so if Canada gives me a call up today, I will play for them”, he reiterated.
On the much debated subject regarding the competitive nature of the Major League Soccer (MLS), Gershon said the MLS is competitive. “From my day one in 2011, this league has been competitive. And it improves every year. “Many Ghanaians don’t watch our games because of the time difference but if they can sacrifice to stay awake and watch MLS games, they will see that this league is much better than a lot of the countries”.
He was pleased to see more Ghanaians in the MLS.
“It is good that many Ghanaians are coming into this league. I will love to see more Ghanaians in this league because they can also help improve the league”. Gershon also took time to explain his move from Vancouver to New England that was in exchange for general allocation money and targeted allocation money. “This league has a trade, and I had only one year left to play for Vancouver.They would have lost if I didn’t move. So they asked if I wanted to move and I chose to move to New England because I knew their assistant coach”.
