Former Black Stars player and current head coach of Nations FC Frimpong Manso has shared why local players don’t get call-ups to Ghana’s senior men’s national football team.
Otto Addo’s recent squad list for the Black Stars to face Austria and Germany in friendlies ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup included only one local player—goalkeeper Benjamin Asare.
The latest squad has raised questions of the quality of players Ghana’s elite football division produces despite all the scouting missions by the Black Stars technical team around the length and breadth of the country.
GPL-winning coach Frimpong Manso, in a chat on Max FM’s Sports Pack show, disputed the question of quality but not how the local players had failed to take the chances handed out to them in the past.
“Some can compete, but it is up to them when given the chance. They also don’t get enough minutes to prove themselves on the pitch. At other times they get enough minutes but fail to take their chances,” said the coach.
Players such as Mahmud Kamaradini, Razack Simpson, and Prince Kwabena Owusu had received regular call-ups from Otto Addo but failed to cement their spots, just as Hearts of Oak goalkeeper Benjamin Asare.
Ghana will face off with Austria on Friday, March 27, before facing Germany on Monday, March 30, 2026.
