Ghanaian players abroad were excluded from Black Stars' 1982 squad - Ex-Black Stars player reveals

Former Black Stars player George Alhassan has revealed why Ghana's AFCON winning teams were made up of locally-based players.

George Alhassan, a two-time AFCON winner with the Black Stars, explained that local players who signed with foreign clubs lost their spots in the national team to home-based players.

He explained that the management of the Black Stars did not see the rationale behind flying in a player from abroad when there were equally talented players in the country.

George Alhassan attributed his inclusion in the 1982 AFCON squad, while playing for a club in Dubai, to the fact that the Saudi league was on a break at the time.

"I was on holiday when I received the call-up to the national team for the AFCON. Back in my day, if you were not in the country, you wouldn't be called up. Your place would be taken by a home-based player," Alhassan said during an interview on Angel TV.

He recalled, "For the 1980 AFCON in Nigeria, I was in Dubai and did not receive an invitation because the authorities didn't understand why they should spend money to bring in a player when they could select someone of similar quality locally."

George Alhassan was the leading scorer with four goals at the 1982 AFCON, which Ghana won in Libya. His first AFCON title with Ghana was the 1978 AFCON.

JNA/EK