President of the Ghana League Clubs Association, John Ansah, has backed calls for more locally based players to be included in the Black Stars squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ansah described the Ghana Premier League as one of the strongest competitions on the continent and said he believes the new Black Stars coach could increase the number of home-based players beyond the two selected for the last World Cup.
Speaking to Channel One, Ansah also said local clubs must take responsibility for producing players who are ready for national team selection.
“If I recollect, in 2022, we had two home-based players. During the qualification, you realised that there were some players who were also given the opportunity.
"We have a few weeks to go to the World Cup, a new coach has been appointed, I don’t know much about his plan but I’m of the view that he might consider doing same or even more.
"The local league sometimes we complain about not being the best but if you look around us on this continent, we are among one of the best. So I think that there’s so much room for improvement and my clubs must play a major role in improving themselves. It all boils down to giving them confidence to do more,” he said.
Historically, locally based players have had limited roles in the Black Stars squads at past FIFA World Cup tournaments. The teams that played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup were mostly made up of players based abroad.
There was, however, a small change at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when players such as Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, both linked to the domestic game, were included. Their selection reflected continued calls for stronger representation of home-based players in the national team.
By: Pascal Amoah
