President of the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), John Ansah, has thrown his support behind calls for greater inclusion of locally based players in the Black Stars squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ansah described the Ghana Premier League as one of the finest on the continent and expressed optimism that the new Black Stars coach could expand the number of home-based players beyond the two selected for the last tournament.
His comments come amid an ongoing debate sparked by discussions on World Cup Central on Channel One TV regarding the potential introduction of a quota system for locally based players in the Black Stars.
Speaking to Channel One Sports, John Ansah stressed that local clubs must also take responsibility for developing players capable of earning national call-ups.
“If I recollect, in 2022, we had two home-based players. During the qualification, you realised that there were some players who were also given the opportunity.
We have a few weeks to go to the World Cup, a new coach has been appointed, I don’t know much about his plan but I’m of the view that he might consider doing same or even more.
The local league sometimes we complain about not being the best but if you look around us on this continent, we are among one of the best. So I think that there’s so much room for improvement and my clubs must play a major role in improving themselves. It all boils down to giving them confidence to do more,” he said.
Historically, locally based players have had limited involvement with the Black Stars at the FIFA World Cup. The 2006, 2010 and 2014 squads were largely dominated by foreign-based professionals, with minimal domestic representation.
However, there was a slight shift at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where players like Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, both with strong ties to the local game, were included, reflecting ongoing calls to strengthen domestic player presence in the national team.
