Athletic Bilbao forward, Iñaki Williams says reconnecting with his roots gave him a reason to feel Ghana and choose to play for the Black Stars ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On July 5, 2022, Iñaki Williams confirmed his intentions to play for the Black Stars of Ghana in a social media post, saying “today a new challenge begins, from now onwards, I’ll defend the shirt of Ghana”.
Iñaki was in Ghana at the start of June with his younger brother, Nico for vacation and held talks with the Ghana Football Association on a possible nationality switch.
It was during his visits that he found a reason and purpose to choose to represent the West African giants despite making his Spain debut on May 29, 2016.
In an interview with TV3, he confirmed he feels more Ghanaian now, saying he was “confused” but coming to Ghana and seeing the people gave made him switch allegiances.
“Yes, I was confused before but since I came here [Ghana] and saw all the people and all the things that I don’t see in Spain. Seeing the people is very important, and they love me, they take photos of me and encourage me to play for Black Stars”.
“It was beautiful playing with Spain. I have lived all my life in Spain, but I don’t forget Ghana. Ghana is a special country because my parents are here, and my blood is here. Ghana is here in my heart because I enjoy this country. I see my people, I see my parents. My parents are Ghanaians, and I am a Ghanaian,” he added.
With the nationality switch, Iñaki Williams will be available for a Black Stars call-up in September when the team play Angola in the AFCON 2023 qualifiers.