Bechem United Football Club’s Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Gyasi Atuahene has pointed to Ghana’s poor campaign at the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN) as the reason no player competing in the betPawa Ghana Premier League was called up to the Black Stars.
New Black Stars head coach, Chris Hughton named his 25-man squad to play against Angola in a 2023 AFCON double-header but no Ghana-based player was included in the list.
Speaking to CITI Sports in an exclusive interview, Atuahene was sure Ghana’s poor performance at the CHAN played an influential role.
The CHAN is a biannual tournament only players competing on the African continent are eligible to compete in. Ghana crashed out of this year’s CHAN at the quarterfinals after losing 0-2 to Niger.
“Well it’s not as if there is no quality in the league, it’s just simply because the players that were assembled for the CHAN tournament were not able to live up to expectations. We believed the appropriate players were being called up for the CHAN tournament and unfortunately when they went there, they disappointed the whole nation…It was the entire team that disappointed us.
Even after their return to their various clubs, the kind of performance they’ve shown, they don’t warrant any spot in the call-up so, honestly speaking, I am not so surprised” he said.
Bechem ranks third in the Ghana League standings after suffering a shock 1-3 loss to bottom-placed Kotoku Royals.