Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah has strongly hit back at a group of people who call themselves 'Friends of Northern Footballers' for describing his Black Stars call up as motivated by tribal sentiments following the exclusion of the Ayew brothers from his squad.

The group staged a sickening press conference in Tamale after the Ayew brothers were excluded from the squad blaming the coach for ignoring players from the north in his call ups.

Despite the poor press conference receiving massive bashing in the media and many top ex-footballers from the north, the soft-spoken Black Star coach has finally responded.

Appiah questioned the essence of the presser if he could ignore players from his own native region from the Black Stars squad.

"I'm from the Brong Ahafo Region. Agyemang Badu is from the Brong Ahafo Region too but he is not part of the team now. What is tribal about my selection? - Appiah retorted in an interview with Ghanasoccernet.com

"I am not tribalistic and will never be. I wish I don't talk about this but I have to clear the air. Anyone who knows me personally knows all my intimate friends are northers and by extension Muslims.

"My team is not based on where some of comes from but based on the performance of the players and their determination to fight for Ghana," he added.

Appiah argued that the assertion cannot be true since the side that travelled to Uganda for the 2018 World Cup Qualifier had three players who all hail from the north.

"It can never be true that I am tribal in my call ups and selections. Kassim Nuhu, Abass Mohammed and Vincent Atinga are all from the north so what is the rational of the press conference?

The former Black Stars captain has been credited with providing great opportunities for players who hail from the north as he handed debut Black Stars call ups to Wakaso, Waris, Baba Rahman, Rabiu Mohammed, Fatau Dauda, Razak Brimah, Rashid Sumaila and Jordan Ayew.