Former Ghana midfielder, Emmanuel Agyeman Badu has reiterated that, the performances of some local players in the Ghana Premier League (GPL) are deserving of a national team call up.
However, he opined that such decisions should not be made in a haste with the country’s agenda of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He indicated that the match between Ghana and Nigeria goes beyond the pitch and is very important for both sides.
“I think after watching several games from the GPL, looking at the performances of some players, I believe they need that kind of challenge in the national team. However, we shouldn’t rush it because we want to qualify for the World Cup when we play Nigeria. Our match against Nigeria goes beyond football, it includes the infamous jollof debate, twitter fights, musical claims and a lot more,” he said hilariously.
In his view, it would be advisable to recruit the younger players and recruit them through the national team ranks, from the under-18 through to the men’s team.
“In general, some can get the call ups and age wise called into the meteors and through to the u-20s too. It would shape them and help them understand the kind of Black Stars that existed. Getting to the men’s national team after raising through the ranks of the national team is essentially helpful to the team and the players as well,” he said in an interview with Ohene Bampo-Brenya on Happy98.89 FMs Happy Sports.
He further praised referee Rustum Gameli Senorgbe for an impressive officiating on Sunday in the most tensioned game in the country between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko