Local Stars land in South Africa

A contingent of the local Black Stars, made up of the 23-man squad and officials, yesterday arrived in Johannesburg ready for conquest to transcend the heights their illustrious predecessors attained in 2009 when they emerged runners-up at the maiden showpiece in Cote d’Ivoire.

 Among the squad, led by Coach Maxwell Konadu and his assistant Dauda Lutterodt, were three goalkeepers - Stephen Adams, Foli Adade and Isaac Amoako. The others were Godfred Saka, Tijani Joshua, Francis Morton, Kwabena Adusei, Abeiku Ainooson, Nuru Sulley and Alfred Nelson.

Also in the team were midfielders namely: Michael Akuffo, Jordan Opoku, Richard Mpong, Yahaya Mohammed, Jackson Owusu, Theophilus Anobaah, Asiedu Attobrah and Latif Mohammed.

The rest were Sulley Mohammed, Kennedy Boateng, Paul De-Vires Asare, Samuel Afful and Seidu Bansey.

 Before their arrival in the South African city, the Ghanaians had rounded up a week’s training tour of Namibia on a positive note by beating their Namibian counterparts 1-0 in a friendly encounter in Windhoek last Saturday.

But despite the win, Coach Konadu expressed disappointment over the quality of output displayed by his side. He was, however, hopeful that the team would improve when the tournament kicked off.

The Stars are in Group C with Libya, Ethiopia and Congo.

The 16-nation tournament kicks off on Saturday.