By Sigismond Nicol
In a joint press conference with the Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Authority, the Minister of Sports, Ibrahim Nyelenkeh, said Leone Stars will qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 in Ivory Coast.
“I have done my mathematics. We are currently having one point in the group and our next fixture is against Sao Tome and Principe; winning against Sao Tome and Principe back to back which is a must-win fixture for us will give us 7 points and we will be ready to host Nigeria and our away fixture will be against Guinea Bissau so we will qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations again,” he said.
When asked about the rebuilding process of the National team the minister said we have come away from the rebuilding process; that the aged players have stepped away from the National team, so we are no longer on rebuilding: “Government needs positive results this time along.”
The minister said the results of the two friendly matches against South Africa and DR Congo was totally discouraging. That Government wasn’t happy about it.
“Government is spending a lot on the National team: it’s necessary to play friendlies then in order to know the strength of the team and to help us in the FIFA rankings. It’s not about winning. Playing also will help you in the FIFA rankings. In the match against South Africa I don’t know if the South Africans played mind games on us because they assured the football association that the visa for the team will be visa on arrival; but in the 11th hour they communicated that we should go to Ghana to collect our visa and the team arrived in Ghana for the visa. Unfortunately the day we went for the visa was a public holiday in Ghana so we have to wait for the next day. The next day we collected our visas which also changed our traveling plans so we have to arrive very late in South Africa. However the boys who where in South Africa were having training sessions, as well as those that were in Ghana.”
For the match with Dr Congo the minister spoke about conceding all three goals from a particular wing which was very bad for the team. He told the press that the head coach John Keister will speak about the team’s performance.
