The striker believes politics by coaches before major tournaments is the cause of the Black Stars long run without a major trophy
Ghana striker Abdul Majeed Waris has rejected claims by teammate Mubarak Wakaso that partisan politics between National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) has largely influenced the Black Stars poor run at major competitions.
The 28-year-old, who now plays for French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, insists that Ghana has failed to win a major trophy since lifting the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations because coaches and their technical teams play politics with player selections.
“I saw Wakaso [Mubarak] making a comment that party politics between NPP and NDC is affecting the Black Stars and I feel that is not affecting the performance of the players because [party] politics does play football,” Wakaso told YAC Media’s Saddick Àdams during an Instagram interview on Wednesday.
“I think at the national team level, the politics rather affect the selection of players. Like myself, they will call you from Europe when you’re performing and always drop you like a scapegoat for players who do not even play half a season and I’m not going to talk about myself alone.
“The selections towards [qualifiers or tournaments] are not based on your performance. It’s only based on politics in the team and I think it is something that affects us at tournaments because that’s the biggest stage that everyone wants to be part and that’s also when the politics get in a lot,” he added.
It will be recalled that Waris was conspicuously missing from Ghana’s final squad named by former coach Kwasi Appiah that represented the country at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Egypt. That move meant that it was the third consecutive time he was left out ahead of competition.
Waris, who boasts of 31 appearances and four goals, is hoping to have another opportunity under new coach C.K Akonnor.