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Players and officials of the Black Stars last Saturday emplaned to the South African coastal city of Durban to honour a friendly game against the Bafana Bafana tomorrow after making a faulty start to their World Cup campaign against Uganda.
Tomorrow’s match in Durban provides a fine opportunity for the Stars to revive their World Cup aspirations as they prepare for their next qualifier against Egypt on November 7, having started on an uninspiring note with a scoreless drawn game against the Cranes in Tamale last Friday.
Prior to the departure, there was uncertainty about the Black Stars’ trip for the game following a refusal by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, to sanction the match because he claimed he had not been given the official notification by the Ghana FA.
However, following a crunch meeting between the minister and members of the management committee of the Stars after last Friday’s World Cup qualifier in Tamale, the minister finally gave his blessing to the team to make the trip.
A source at the meeting disclosed to the Graphic Sports that the minister explained that he had received a call from Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Kwesi Ahwoi, to enquire about the team’s arrival in order to make protocol arrangement for the team and officials.
Mr Vanderpuye confirmed at the meeting that he finally received a copy of the contract covering the match and as a result gave his blessing for the team to travel to Durban via Johannesburg.
With Egypt currently occupying the summit of Group E after beating Congo 2-1 yesterday, it is expected that Coach Avram Grant and his charges would have to approach tomorrow’s clash with a different attitude and as a possible dress rehearsal for next month’s qualifier against Egypt in Alexandria.
South Africa have been one of Ghana’s strongest opponents and have won four of their last 10 games, including a painful 3-0 win over the Stars during the 1996 Africa Cup of Nation in South Africa.
Last year, the Stars defeated the Bafana Bafana 2-1 in a group clash at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
However, their last clash in the Rainbow Nation dates back to August 11, 2010 when the South Africans pipped the Ghanaian 1-0 in an international friendly in Johannesburg.
