Former Ghana U-17 player Najeeb Yakubu has chided the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Okraku, over remarks he made that undermined players of the Nigerien national team.

Okraku, during a speech to the Black Stars players, criticised them for their performances.

He added that their inability to beat even Niger on a neutral ground is disgraceful to the nation and that even four or five players from the Niger team are not qualified to play for his team.

In reaction to the comment, Najeeb Yakubu, who has now naturalised for the Niger national team, fumed about Kurt Okraku’s comments that tend to disrespect his colleagues.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on Prime Take, Yakubu noted that given Kurt Okraku’s status in football, he should not have addressed the Niger team in such a manner.

“Common Niger, four or five players cannot play in my team. The four or five players, who are they? I am one, Sosah two, Mohammed Ali three, Mohammed Yussif four, and Salim makes it five. When you speak like that, it is not fine,” he said.

Yakubu indicated that the lack of support and proper treatment from the Ghana football officials influenced his decision to naturalise for Niger and play for their national team.

Niger, even though they could not qualify for the 2025 AFCON, beat Ghana 2-1 at the Accra Sports Stadium, which led to public backlash on the Black Stars team.

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