Parliament commends Black Stars for qualifying for 2012 African Cup of Nations
Parliament on Wednesday commended the Black Stars for qualifying for the 28th edition of the 2012 African Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
This followed a statement made by Mr Isaac Asiamah, Member of Parliament for Atwima Mponua on the floor of Parliament on Ghana’s participation in the Orange Cup of Nations in 2012.
Mr Asiamah said the qualification series which lasted for almost 13 months saw Ghana playing six matches against group one competitors namely Sudan, Congo, and Swaziland.
He said the Stars scored 13 goals and conceded only one goal, adding: “this for me is very refreshing and impressive, I doff off my hat for the entire team and its technical handlers”.
Mr Asiamah said qualifying to the competition is just one bit of the hurdle jump, considering the qualified countries namely; Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Angola, Tunisia, Zambia, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Libya, Botswana and Niger.
Mr Asiamah tipped Ghana to do the Nation an honour lifting the Cup.
He said Ghana’s participation in the 28th edition “will mean as a country we have made 18 appearances and out of the 28 times that the tournament has been held, Ghana has managed to win four and has always lived in the past glory of being the four-time African Champions”, until Egypt overtook Ghana.
He said the Black Stars have been improving in performance in the last two African Cup of Nations’ tournament.
Ghana placed 3rd in the CAN 2008 held in Ghana and emerged 1st runner-up in Angola 2010.
He said the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ghana Football Association, Black Stars Management and Technical handlers and soccer fans need to provide the logistical, financial, moral and spiritual support to the team.
“In order that Ghana does not receive any surprise from any of the qualified teams, I would want to implore our players to exhibit more technical resilience and discipline to win the cup which has eluded us for three decades to save the hearts of many teeming soccer enthusiasts,” Mr Asiamah said.
He proposed the setting up of Sports Professionals Endowment Fund to cater for the welfare of players.
Source: GNA