Kwadwo Opoku Mahala, an attacker for the Ghana U23 national team, will not be participating in the upcoming 2023 CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.
The player's club, Los Angeles FC, has declined to release him for the competition. Coach Ibrahim Tanko expressed that since the tournament does not fall within FIFA's international dates, they cannot force the club to release him.
As a result, the team is focusing on the players who are available and confident that they can perform well.
"For now he is not joining because his team didn’t agree to release him for this tournament. This tournament does not fall within the FIFA international dates so we cannot force the team to release him. For now we know he is not coming and we are focused on the players who are here and we know they can do the job for us"
Alongside Kojo Opoku Mahala, attackers Kamaldeen Sulemana and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer will also not be part of the Black Meteors squad for the tournament in Morocco.
However, Ernest Nuamah is expected to join the team. The U23 AFCON tournament is set to commence on Saturday, June 24.
