Black Stars head coach, Kwesi Appiah, says player fitness will be very important to the team is success will be attained in the 2019 AFCON tournament in Egypt.
Appiah’s demand for fitness has been necessitated by the scheduling of Ghana’s group games in the tournament.
The Black Stars will play their group games on June 25, 29 and July 2 in Ismailia and Suez against Benin, Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau respectively.
Speaking after the AFCON draw in Giza, Kwesi Appiah, stated that it was important to put players in the right shape to tackle the demands of the competition.
“We always knew that we would have to play every three or four days and the most important thing for us to look at is the fitness of the players.
We need to make sure they are fully fit and prepared for the games.
However, as professional players, once the competition starts, you do not need a lot of physical work because you are playing every three or four days.
The most import thing is to get the players to be fit so they can compete at the required levels.”
The 2019 AFCON is the first to be played with 24 teams after it was expanded and Appiah gave his thoughts on the development.
“Personally, I think that the new situation is not bad because it allows other countries to get the chance to participate. However, we should ask ourselves how many countries can host such a large gathering of teams. It will not be easy for a lot of countries to host.”
The 2019 AFCON tournament will run from June 21 to July 19 and it will be played in six venues: Cairo International Stadium, June 30 Stadium, Al Salam Stadium, Alexandria Stadium, Suez Stadium and Ismailia Stadium.