Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Spokesperson Alhaji Ibrahim Saani Daara has confessed his regrets about bringing Kevin Prince Boateng into the Black Stars.
Kevin Prince Boateng starred for the Ghana Black Stars alongside Asamoah ‘Baby Jet’ Gyan, Andre Dede Ayew, Stephen Appiah, Richard ‘Olele’ Kingson, and the rest of that famous 2010 World Cup squad.
Having represented the national junior teams of the country of his birth, Germany, KPB made known his desire to represent the country of his father’s birth, Ghana, in June 2009.
Saani Daara, while also with the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) during that time, recommended the player who was making a name for himself at Portsmouth to the technical team of the Black Stars led by former head coach Goran Stevanovic.
Though impressing at the global level with Ghana in South Africa in 2010, the European-cultured star out of the blue called it quits on his international career, citing “fatigue” at the age of 24 just when the Black Stars were headed for the 2012 African Cup of Nations.
Disappointment soon turned into outrage when news broke of his inclusion in the final squad call-up for the final 2014 World Cup qualifier against Egypt—a game in which Ghana dominated Egypt for a place in Brazil.
With Ghanaians known to be peace-loving, he was gradually forgiven, but what ensued in Brazil may have played a huge part in Ghana’s group stage exit from the FIFA Mundial.
Altercations with the technical team and management team of the Black Stars appalled many, leading to his expulsion from the team, and since then there hadn’t been a way back for him till his retirement from professional football.
Saani Daara, as he first disclosed on Max FM’s Sports Pack on Tuesday, October 14, repeated on Metro TV that there was a team revolt in 2011 after KPB rejected an invitation to join the team for AFCON qualifiers but showed up in camp for Ghana’s famous friendly against England in Wembley.
With so much regret in his heart about KPB’s attitude towards the country, he advised that the loyalty of any other foreign-born Ghanaian who all of a sudden desires a place in the Black Stars as the 2026 World Cup beckons must wait after it ends and participate in the rigorous 2027 AFCON qualifiers which follow.
