Ibrahim Tanko — Head Coach of the Ghana U-23 team — has strengthened the team with five foreign-based players for the 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations final qualification round against Algeria this month.
The Black Meteors have been billed to battle out with the North African nation later this month for a slot to participate in the next edition of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations slated to be staged in Morocco.
In February, the technical team of the Ghana U23 invited twenty-four (24) players for camping at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence at Prampram to begin preparation for the last round of the 2023 TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Tanko has now augmented his squad with Sporting CP teen sensation Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, who was part of the Ghana squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Others are FC Nordsjaelland attacker Ernest Nuamah, Emmanuel Yeboah of CFR Cluj and Ibrabim Zubairu of Serbian side FK Jedinstvo Ub.
English-born of Ghanaian descent Kwame Poku who plies his trade at Peterborough United has also earned a call-up to partake in the last round of the qualifiers against Algeria.
The quintet are expected to arrive at the Black Meteors camp in Prampram on Tuesday, March 21.
The first leg of the final qualification round is scheduled for Friday, March 24 in Annaba with the return leg set for Kumasi in four days time.
The next edition of the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, which serves as qualifiers for the 2024 Olympics Games, will take place in Morocco in June this year.
The tournament serves as qualifers of African countries for the Olympic football tournament with the top three teams of the tournament qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympic men’s football tournament in Paris, the fourth place team will play the AFC-CAF playoffs to decide the final slot to the Olympics.
Ghana missed out on the 2020 Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo, Japan after finishing fourth at the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Egypt. The Black Meteors are yet to secure a ticket to feature at the Olympics Games since 2004 in Athens, Greece.
