FIFA World Cup: Ghana FA slams door on foreign players of Ghana descent

President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku has indicated that, foreign players of Ghanaian descent who previously turned down the invite to play for the West African nation will not be considered for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

News of several foreign born players of Ghanaian parentage wanting to represent the nation at the senior level has spread apace with names like former England youth internationals, Eddie Nketiah and Callum Hudson-Odoi popping up.

Gremio forward, Francis Amuzu is equally another name that has been linked to a nationality switch for Ghana ahead of the global football showpiece but Kurt Okraku indicates that, players who previously ditched the four time African champions will not have a bite of the Black Stars cake at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico.

Okraku drops axe on players who previously ditched Ghana

“I don’t want mercenaries to come to Ghana, I don’t want people to just jump on the ship just because we have qualified for the mundial,” Okraku told 3Sports.

“I want players who love Ghana, who will play from their hearts with passion and who would want represent Ghana in all competitions so yes I have been very categorical that if you refused us in the past, if you’ve not shown respect to us in the past, I will not open the door because we have qualified for the mundial.

“I don’t care about the coach, he has his preference just like any other person but as a principled person you have to show beyond reasonable doubt that you want to play, you are committed to the national flag, you are proud to be a Ghanaian.

Ghana have qualified for fifth FIFA World Cup

“Players who have not shown enough commitment towards the national flag will not be part of us. There must be good reasons why a player will be part of the traveling party. I want players who show a high level of dedication, who show passion, who show respect for Ghana, to represent Ghana.

“For me as a leader, I don’t really care about what anybody says, in the end it’s me and in the end I’m responsible for Ghana and I just want to repeat what the coach said that, if we have approached you before, if you’ve turned down Ghana before, if you’ve not shown respect to Ghana your country before, count yourself out.”

Ghana qualified for its fifth FIFA World Cup after beating Central African Republic by 5-0 in the penultimate qualifier before wrapping up with a 1-0 victory over Comoros at the Accra Sports Stadium in the final Group I game to finish on 25 points in ten outings.

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.