The Black Starlets boss talks about their preparations for for the upcoming Wafu B Cup of Nations
Ghana coach Ben Fokuo has set his sights on returning the Black Starlets to the Africa U17 Cup of Nations following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2019 edition.
After a six-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic, the two-time champions are set to resume camp on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Wafu Zone B Cup of Nations in Benin.
The team of players have been called up to resume training at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Technical Centre on Tuesday.
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“It’s been a long time since we experienced success with the U17 team,” Fokuo told the GFA’s official website.
“We need to work harder, plan well and have double training and raise our games to the level of the past U17 sides. That’s what myself and the technical team are aiming at so that we can bring back that love for people to see the new breed of U17 players.
“We are working very hard to have a formidable team to represent the nation and so the boys are working hard for us to get that glory back.
“If the U17 side succeeds, we can get a formidable team for the U20 side and the senior national team, the Black Stars so we will do our best, people should watch out for this team.
“I can assure you that the materials I have now, I think despite having a short period to train and prepare for the tournament, they’ll see a new U17 team and nobody will disgrace them at the tournament. They’ll be happy and they’ll see us there in future competitions.”
Ghana failed to qualify for the last Afcon after finishing second behind arch-rivals Nigeria at the Wafu B tournament in Niger.
The Black Starlets are two-time continental champions as they are world champions.
“The pandemic has affected us a lot because now we have about a month to prepare the team and so things we need to go through when you have enough time to prepare the team for a competition has been reduced to less than two months of preparation,” Fokuo added.
“We don’t have matches to play now because the teams are locked up. So, we can’t play competitive matches with the local teams. We are going to have a program which will make the boys fit so that we can get closer to where we need, before we get to the match period.”
Ghana finished second on their last appearance (2017) at the U17 Afcon, going ahead to participate in the world championship where they reached the quarter-final.
