Sports News of Thursday, 23 January 2020

Source: footballmadeinghana.com

Mohammed Polo urges C.K Akornor to implement quota system for locally based players

Former Ghana international, Mohammed Polo Former Ghana international, Mohammed Polo

Former Ghana international, Mohammed Polo has urged newly appointed Black Stars Coach C.K Akornor to implement a quota system for locally based players into the senior national team.

Often times, players plying their trade in the local league have been overlooked when the national team handlers have extended invitations to players to prepare for various assignments.

This development has often led to a hue and cry among advocates of the local game who believe there is enough quality on the domestic front to compete at the senior national team level with the foreign based players.

It is in light of this that several calls have been made that a quota system be put in place for local players.

Mohammed Polo, a strong proponent of this has lamented situations where local players are marginalized and noted instances where local players duly justified themselves in national colors.

He told footballmadeinghana.com in an exclusive interview “we have to encourage the players locally to play at the highest level because I look at certain Black Stars matches in the past, there were some local boys who came from nowhere, they were given the chance and they came up (performed)”.

“Just like the league has started, there are some (players) who will be active throughout. And then there are players who are so-called professionals (foreign based) who are not active, they are on and off, but because they’re professionals (sic) they (coaches) prefer them than the local players.” he added.

The 1978 AFCON winner wants CK Akornor to take the matter up and fashion out a solution.

In his case the ideal solution is the implementation of a quota system for these local players as he thinks overly relying on foreign based players isn’t helpful.

“I think we should get some sort of a quota for the local national players. A quota for them, whether you like it or not, let’s give them that chance so that we can develop them and they will also be aware that if they do well they will get that chance to play at that level” he concluded.