Ghana Sports News: Football, Basketball, Boxing & More

About five players—Jordan Ayew, Kasim Nuhu, Caleb Ekuban, Gideon Mensah, Joseph Aidoo and Bernard Mensah—were said to have contracted the virus while on international duty with the national team during their game against Mali and Qatar on October 9 and 12 respectively.

But a statement issued by the GFA Communications department said the protocols of the virus were strictly adhere to with a minimum of three tests being conducted for each of the players and officials.

It said apart from one official who tested positive and was isolated, none of the players tested positive in all the three tests that were carried out on them.

“The Ghana Football Association (GFA) contingent adhered to all the strict COVID-19 protocols, before, during and after our stay in Turkey. A minimum of three tests were conducted on players, technical and management team members during the training camp in Antalya.

“The first test was conducted 24Hrs prior to the game against Mali where one team official tested positive for the virus and was immediately isolated from the group. With just about an hour to the start of the game against Mali, the Ghana team Doctors, together with Turkish Health officials conducted another round of tests in the dressing rooms of both Ghana and Mali before kick-off.

“The 3rd set of tests were carried out 24Hrs before the second game against Qatar and again, no single positive case was recorded”, the statement said.

While wishing the affected players speedy recovery, the association said they were surprised some members of the team contracted the virus despite adhering strictly to the protocol and promised to provide the necessary support for the affected players.

“The GFA ensured all FIFA Covid-19 protocols were strictly adhered to throughout the National Team’s engagement and it is quite a concern that some members of the team have subsequently tested positive for the virus.

“The GFA will continue to monitor the situation and will provide all necessary support to the affected players while wishing them a speedy recovery”, the statement noted.