Chairman of the Black Satellites Management Commitee, Randy Abbey has disclosed that the male national U20 team is preparing towards subsequent tournaments after missing out on the just-ended U20 AFCON held in Egypt and the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup ongoing in Argentina.
The four-time Champions are currently prepping for the WAFU Zone B tournament in Cote D’Ivore which will serve as qualifiers for the next edition of the U-20 AFCON.
Coach Samuel Boadu’s side have been paired with the Cote D’Ivoire, the Host Nation, old nemesis Burkina Faso, and Niger in Group A.
Speaking to Citi Sports in an exclusive interview, Randy Abbey expressed optimism in the technical team to build a formidable squad that will compete at the highest level.
“I think the team is at the preparatory stage and the technical team started working on this team less than three months ago.
“It is still work in progress and this will be considered as perhaps the first phase of building a formidable under-20 squad.”
“The coaches have done a lot of monitoring this season, in the premier league, the division one, and division two as well and the aim is to continue giving some players the opportunity.
“And so it is a process that will continue until the WAFU competition kicks off which will serve as qualifiers for the AFCON.”
“I think that we have started quite early, I think that so far, we are on course. I am hoping that, by the time we get to the competitive stage, we would have been able to build a good squad.”
“There are more players we are looking at, the opportunity to come around and showcase their quota to the Head Coach.”
“Like I said, earlier on, this is the preparatory stage, and we hope that we will be able to continue and by the time the need arises we would be able to present a formidable squad.”
Ghana’s Black Satellites bowed out of the 2022 U-20 WAFU Zone B Championship in Niger after losing 2-1 to Burkina Faso in the final group game.
Ghana in a group of three teams lost their first group game 2-0 to bitterest rivals Nigeria and needed a win against Burkina Faso to advance to the semi-final.
However, the team failed to get the desired results, losing 2-1 to Burkina Faso in the final group game.
The defeat meant that the Black Satellites were unable to defend the WAFU Zone B Championship, a competition they won three years ago after coming from behind to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 at the Stade Charles De Gaulles in Porto Novo, Benin.
The Black Satellites also missed out on the 2023 U-20 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in Egypt, where Senegal finished as Champions of the tournament
