Upper West Region has new football heroes. They are the regional under 15 boys and girls team who beat long time rivals Brong Ahafo to qualification for the national finals of the Airtel Rising Stars competition.

And it was not just in the team standings. Both the Best Male player, Aaron Kyiwine and Best Female player also came from the Upper West Regional teams.

Brong Ahafo Region, defending champions of Ghana’s most authentic talent hunt competition was shell shocked by the minnows who perfectly executed a ‘ host and win agenda’ in Wa.

“B.A. have been winning over Upper West all the time. In fact we have won the Airtel Rising Stars national competition twice. Yes we have lost here but we will meet them again in Sunyani and there we will restore our might,” said Amponsah Agyemang, the head of delegation from the Brong Ahafo Region.

Despite having lost the ticket, Brong Ahafo will play in the national finals in Sunyani because they are the host team. This throws up a potential mouthwatering repeat or revenge game with the heroes from Upper West. At present however, a potential rematch is furthest from the mind of the heroes from Upper West.

"We have won. We played well. We have made the people of Wa and the whole Upper West Region very proud. This is what we set out to do," Upper West Regional Juvenile Football Committee boss, Adolf Abubakar said.

"Whether we play BA again in Sunyani is irrelevant. The fact is we have beaten them. And we shall prepare for them in the national finals," Mr. Abubakar added.

Upper West’s Boys and Girls have joined the confirmed list of finalists which includes Western Region’s male and female teams as well as the male team from Eastern Region and the female team from the Ashanti Region.

The next stop for the zonal qualification for Airtel Rising Stars is Tamale which will host the Boys and Girls Team from the Upper East and Northern Regions.

The Tamale Airtel Rising Star games are scheduled for the 15 and 16 of August after which Denu in the Volta region will host the qualifying session between Greater Accra and Volta Regions on the 23 and 24 of August.