Retired Ghanaian footballer, Joe Tex Frimpong, has voiced his firm opposition to any suggestion that officials should call up new players to replace those who secured the Black Stars’ qualification for the upcoming World Cup tournament.
Mr Frimpong insisted that the entire squad responsible for qualifying Ghana must be retained for the World Cup tournament itself. He used a potent local adage, stating that the situation amounts to saying “the money cannot work for the baboon to come and chop.” This idiom, he explained, emphasizes his belief that the individuals who put in the hard work to achieve qualification must not be sidelined in favour of others for the main tournament.
Speaking in an interview with Andres Kwabena Gyasi (KG) on Rainbow Sports, Frimpong described dropping the qualifying players in favour of new additions as a “total betrayal” and deeply disappointing.
”It is painful to sacrifice, play your hearts out to qualify the team, and then be dropped just when the tournament begins,” he stated. “Every footballer’s dream is to play at the World Cup. While one can have a distinguished career playing for top clubs, participating in the World Cup brings a unique joy and excitement. Therefore, it is simply not right to drop the players who secured qualification just when it is time for the main tournament, only to call up others.”
Joe Tex Frimpong subsequently backed calls for the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to review its player call-up policy. He argued strongly that players who refused to honour invitations for the qualifying campaign or other preparatory tournaments should not be given an opportunity to play in the World Cup, regardless of their perceived experience or quality.
”I support measures to prevent any player who previously refused a call-up from joining the team for the World Cup,” he asserted. “It is absurd for individuals who struggled and worked hard to qualify the team to then be replaced by others based on the grounds that they are more experienced. This is nonsense. If you were invited for the qualifiers and declined, you do not deserve a call-up now. Such players show disrespect to the team and the country. They view Ghana as their last resort, and we should not entertain this disrespect.”
He added that any attempt by GFA officials to “manipulate the system” to drop the players responsible for qualification would be disgraceful. Frimpong warned that this action would severely demotivate the qualifying players, eroding their willingness to sacrifice for the national team in future campaigns.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana