Ex-Ghana captain Stephen Appiah has joined the bandwagon appealing for renewed support for the Black Stars ahead of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
The Black Stars have been drawn in Group E of the African qualifiers and will battle Congo, Egypt and Uganda in their quest for their 4th World Cup appearance.
The team has not enjoyed its usual massive attention from the populace post the 2014 World Cup scandal which saw
Interest in the team by fans has been very on the low since the 2014 Fifa World Cup scandal which involved millions of dollars worth of taxpayers’ money used to airlift fans, repeated allegations of player bickering, reports of salacious extra-marital affairs and the extraordinary transfer of over $3 million dollars worth of bonus to Brazil.
In recent days, the team and officials alike have been on a push across the media landscape to get fans as interested as they should be again.
The Black Stars deputy captain Andre Ayew recently said: “I have to be honest, Ghanaians want us to win and we have been wining but we still don’t feel the support. There are different issues that are true or false but I’m just pleading that we all put things behind us.”
And Appiah who captained Ghana to two World Cups has joined on the appeal get the once loyal fans back behind the team for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for October 2016 to November 2017.
“All the things we are seeing is all because of what happened in Brazil. But Ghanaians know that the team is very good. The only issue now is attendance. It is not like what used to enjoy,” he told Sammy Bartels, host of “The Game” on GH One TV.
“We need to put everything aside. The Black Stars is the only senior male team that we have and so, we have to move on and support the Black Stars.”
Stephen Appiah also expressed optimism in Ghana’s chances of making the finals of 2018 the World Cup.
“Every group in the qualifiers is a tough one because every country wants to make to the World Cup. Like we have seen in the Euros, smaller nations have become better.
“But knowing the Black Stars, I am certain that they will qualify to the World Cup although it is a tough group.”
“I think the Black Stars are ready. Recently, I met some of tye players and we were having some conversations. You can see that they are still starving. They want to do more, they want to be at the World Cup again,” he told “The Game”.
Source: ghonetv.com/Ghana