Executive Committee member of the Ghana Football Association, Wilfred Osei-Kwaku has backed the senior national team to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon next year.

The team’s efforts have been fraught with near misses in the last few tournaments having lost out in the final in 2010 and 2015 to Egypt and Cote d’Ivoire, respectively. It also suffered nail-biting semi-final heartbreaks in 2012 and 2013.

The Black Stars have qualified for yet another Cup of Nations with a game to spare and would be one of the seeded sides for the draw next month.

Speaking to Class Sports’ Kwame Dwomoh-Agyemang, Mr Osei-Kwaku was optimistic Ghana would win the competition in Gabon.

“One competition they have never participated in is the Confederations Cup. So, the boys challenge themselves that if really they can beat their chest and say we have ever played for the nation at a certain level, this is the finest opportunity to play in the Nations Cup and you know what that means. Before you can compete in the Confederations Cup, you need to win the continental laurel (Cup of Nations), so what is your guess? We are not going to Gabon 2017 just to participate. We will be there to make impact and, trust me, we are going to bring the cup home,” he stated.

The Black Stars have won the continental championships on four occasions in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982.