George Afriyie's World Cup rallying cry: Otto Addo must pick winners over loyalty
Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Vice-President, George Afriyie, has thrown his weight behind national team coach Otto Addo, insisting the final decision on whether to invite Crystal Palace forward Eddie Nketiah and Nottingham Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi to the Black Stars must rest squarely with the man in charge.
With fewer than four months to Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup opener against Panama in Toronto on June 17, the debate has intensified over the England-born duo, who previously declined invitations to represent Ghana but have now declared their readiness to feature following the nation’s qualification.
Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside Panama, England and Croatia — a formidable pool that has sharpened the conversation about squad depth and quality.
Speaking to the Graphic Sports in a telephone interview yesterday, Mr Afriyie made it clear that selection must be based on merit, not emotion.
“The Black Stars belong to every Ghanaian everywhere so long as he is a Ghanaian and a footballer in top shape, playing in the top league and qualifies to play for the Black Stars, I don’t see why he cannot be invited,” he said.
The former GFA executive stressed that the technical call ultimately lies with Addo.
“If, in the wisdom of Otto Addo, looking at the squad depth now, the addition of these two players can make an impact and help Ghana at the World Cup, it depends on the coach.”
Familiar script
Mr Afriyie argued that hesitation from overseas-born players was nothing new, citing the example of Spain-born Ghana international, Iñaki Williams, who took years to commit to Ghana despite early approaches.
“Yes, there was a time when we needed them, yet they were looking at England and all that, but ask why today Iñaki Williams is playing for the Black Stars at the tail end of his career when we started pursuing him long ago,” he said.
“Kwesi Nyantakyi and I invited Iñaki's father to the GFA boardroom, but it took Kurt Simeon-Okraku [current GFA president] years later to convince him to come. Ask why Iñaki's junior brother [Nico] is playing for Spain and not Ghana.”
For Mr Afriyie, timing is a personal decision.
“At any point in time, if the player feels that this is the time to play for Ghana, why not? If the coach thinks that Nketiah and Hudson-Odoi — both born in England to Ghanaian parents but previously represented England — merit a place in the Black Stars and they can help win matches, why not? Who decides who a Black Stars player is or who should be called?”
Merit over loyalty
One of the more emotive strands of the debate has centred on whether players who fought through the qualifiers should be prioritised. Afriyie dismissed that argument as impractical.
Ghana used 46 players across their 10 qualifying matches, yet only 26 can be named in the final World Cup squad.
“Nobody is a permanent member of the Black Stars. The national team is there so that anytime a coach feels this player can help the cause of the Black Stars, he must go for him and nothing must stop him,” he stated.
“Not all the players who played in the qualifiers can play in the World Cup, so are we also being fair to those players who played during the qualifiers but won’t be part of the World Cup?”
Boateng precedent
To underline his point, Mr Afriyie referenced Ghana’s finest World Cup campaign in 2010, when Kevin-Prince Boateng, who was not part of the qualifying campaign but joined the team at the 11th hour, played a key role in the Black Stars' run to the quarter-finals in South Africa.
“A difficult Kevin-Prince Boateng was even managed and all the talk that we did well in 2010 when we nearly reached the semi-final was because we had a certain Kevin-Prince Boateng. He played a role,” he said.
“You may talk about the negatives, but our best performance and best outing as far as the World Cup is concerned was when Boateng was included; that’s a fact.”
