GFA President Kurt Okraku has attributed the spate of withdrawals from Ghana’s squad for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to injuries, demanding club schedules and other personal circumstances rather than a reluctance to represent the country.
The Black Stars have been hit by several late absences ahead of their opening Group I qualifier against Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké on Thursday, September 24, followed by a home fixture against The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 27.
Captain Jordan Ayew, Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, Baba Rahman, Alidu Seidu, Nathaniel Adjei and Prince Kwabena Adu are among those who have withdrawn from the squad.
Okraku insists the players should not be blamed for their unavailability, stressing that none has deliberately rejected an invitation to play for Ghana since he took over as GFA president.
“It was the duty of the technical team to invite players for the upcoming games, but unfortunately, we have had issues, and I want to place it on record that no player has ever refused to play for the Black Stars since I assumed office as the president of the Football Association,” he told Asempa FM.
He pointed to the intense demands of professional football and the workload players face at their clubs as factors that can affect their availability for international duty.
“A lot of the players go through serious training, and some of them also have serious issues and some of them are forced to play because that is where they are employed full time,” Okraku said.
“It is unfortunate that some of our players have withdrawn, and it is not their fault.”
With several established players unavailable, head coach Carlos Queiroz has been forced to reshape his squad ahead of the qualifiers.
Brandon Thomas-Asante, Felix Afena-Gyan and Jonas Adjetey have been drafted into the team, while Rockson Yeboah and Rahim Ibrahim have earned their first senior call-ups.
The qualifiers represent Ghana’s first step towards returning to the AFCON finals after the Black Stars missed the 2025 tournament in Morocco, ending their sequence of consecutive appearances at the competition.
Following the two qualifiers, Ghana are scheduled to play Morocco in an international friendly in Tangier on October 4, giving Queiroz another opportunity to assess his squad ahead of the remaining qualifiers.
