Ghana’s ambassador to Qatar His Excellency Dr. Emmanuel Enos has called on the Black Stars at their base in Doha. The meeting which took place on Friday, December 31, 2020 was to officially welcome the team to Qatar and to wish them well ahead of next month’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The Black Stars have been training at the Aspire Academy facility since Saturday in preparation for the tournament which kicks off on Sunday, January 9, 2022 in Yaoundé.
‘’On behalf of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, President of the Republic, the Ghana Embassy staff in Doha and the entire Ghanaian community in Qatar, I would like to warmly welcome all of you to Doha’’ His Excellency Enos said.
‘’My coming here is to personally congratulate all of you for the exploits you continue to showcase in the area of football.
‘’Your Commitment, discipline, team spirit and team work is unparalleled and needs to be commended.
‘’The second reason for my coming is to motivate, empower and encourage you to do more, we all know the task ahead – from here we will be going to Cameroon for the AFCON. Let’s all put it at the back of our mind that the trophy is already ours.
‘’You are blessed with an excellent management team, good coach, team spirit and good leadership – not to talk about your captain Andre Ayew. His dedication and devotion to the team is unparalleled. I believe the young ones will go far if they learn from him.
‘’It is not just a sheer coincidence that you are here in Qatar – and for us at the Embassy we see it as a good step to build a camaraderie between the GFA and the Embassy. I wish you well. I wish you good luck and I believe that we will bring home the trophy and also qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup’’ he added.
President of the Ghana Football Association Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku who received the Ambassador and his staff expressed sincere gratitude to them for taking time out of their busy schedule to visit the team.
‘’We want to express our gratitude to you and your staff for coming. It wasn’t difficult settling on Qatar as our camping base because beyond the amazing facilities, we knew we will always be at home’’ President Simeon-Okraku said.
‘’It was always imperative for us to have a feel of the World Cup host before the mundial next year. I would like to commend the President, Nana Akufo Addo and the sector Mustapha Ussif (Hon.) for their support and commitment.
‘’Your Excellency, you have in front of you an amazing and committed players who have been dedicated to our course from day one. Before I became the President, I never had the chance to work with the Black Stars but these players have demonstrated true commitment and professionalism ever since I have been with them.
‘’These boys have dedicated themselves to the national course and they believe it is time for us to break the 40 year wait for the AFCON trophy.
‘’They have abandon their family and left their clubs just to be here in Qatar to fight for the nation.
‘’Beyond here, we will be in Cameroon for the AFCON and hopefully all the day and nights of sacrifice will pay off in Cameroon. We will play Morocco, Gabon and Comoros and we believe that we will top the group and go all the way to the final and win the trophy.
‘’We believe in the course to bring the trophy to Ghana. We are extremely happy for your coming. We will not let the country down. There are a lot of doubting Thomas’s but we believe this squad will make us proud’’ he added.
Defender Jonathan Mensah thanked the Ambassador and the President on behalf of the players and assured them of their commitment to end the trophy drought in Cameroon.
The Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations will be held from January 9 – February 6, 2022.
