Players competing in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League have reacted to fellow league player, Richard Ofori’s omission from Ghana’s Black Stars 2022 FIFA World Cup squad.
Ghana’s 26-man squad for this year’s World Cup in Qatar which commences on Sunday, November 20 was announced earlier this week by head coach, Otto Addo.
Goalkeeper, Richard Ofori was part of the 55-man provisional squad and was a lock to be named in the main squad but was omitted from the group after aggravating a knee injury he picked up in the MTN 8 final, which Pirates won 1-0 against Amazulu.
Ofori has been in and out of Pirates’ lineup due to the knee injury and eventually missed out on Ghana’s fourth appearance at the FIFA World Cup.
Had the former Maritzburg United goalkeeper been named in the 26-man squad, he would have been the only player from the highly-rated league to compete in this year’s World Cup.
Reacting to Ofori’s omission, Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams stated: “Obviously it is not nice hearing the situation of Ofori and I’m gutted for him because I know him quite well.”
Pirates midfielder Miguel Timm offered support to his teammate saying:
“We spoke about the situation going to the World Cup and he played the final and that was a risk he was willing to take. He is a big man, I know he will recover well and I wish him well. I’ll probably call him later. But speedy recovery to him.”
Timms and Williams made these statements at a presser as South Africa prepares to play friendly games against Mozambique on Thursday, November 17, and Angola on Sunday, November 20.
Joseph Wollacott also missed out on a call-up after picking up a finger injury; like Ofori, Wollacott was heavily tipped to make it to Qatar.