AYC news round-up

13 April 2011

NIGERIA

Nigeria coach John Obuh says his side is ready to do Nigeria “proud” at the African Youth Championships. There has been some criticism that the squad is “weak”, but the coach is having none of it. “I don’t think the team is weak. I am sure they will do Nigeria proud in South Africa. I have confidence in the other players in the team,” he told SuperSport. Meanwhile, the Nigerians are still hoping to have Italian based Sani Ibrahim available, but are still waiting to hear from his club, Lazio.

LESOTHO

The Lesotho Undcer-20 side will undergo fitness tests at the high Performance Centre in Pretoria ahead of the African Youth Championships so that coach Leslie Notsi can assess each player’s readiness for the finals. The side have been camping at their Bambatha Tsita base, but will travel to South Africa for the specialist testing.

SOUTH AFRICA

Tournament organisers have confirmed that the opening match of the African Youth Championships between South Africa and Mali on April 17 will be held at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto. The majority of the games will be played there, bar two in the first round, which will be at the BidVest Stadium in Johannesburg. Those are the ties between Mali vs Lesotho (April 23) and Nigeria vs Gambia (April 24).

GHANA

Coach Orlando Wellington has named his final 21-man selection for the 2011 African Youth Championships as the defending champions seek to retain the crown they won two years ago in Rwanda. The notable absentees are Jordan Ayew (Olympique Marseille), Afriyie Acquah (Plaermo) and Daniel Agyei (Fiorentina), who were not released by their clubs. The Black Satilklites have been camping in Kenya and will leave for South Africa on Thursday.

Full squad

Goalkeepers:
Adade Foli (Ebusua Dwarfs), Akwasi Acheampong (Liberty Professionals), Ibrahim Alhassan (Madina United)

Defenders:
Rashid Sumaila (Ebusua Dwarfs), Adnan Saeed (Wa All Stars), Karim Alhassan (Hearts of Oak), Paul Aidoo (Berekum Chelsea), Richmond Nketiah (FC Nania), Samuel Kyere (Berekum Chelsea Masawudu Alhassan (Genoa, Italy)

Midfielders:
Albert Bruce (Asante Kotoko), Seidu Shaibu (Wa All Stars), Bright Addae (Terrassa FC, Italy), James Bissue (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel), Enoch Ebo Andoh (Benfica, Portugal), Gershon Koffie (Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada), Ebenezer Otu (Berekum Chelsea)

Strikers:
Richmond Boakye-Yiadom (Genoa, Italy) Kwame Amponsah-Karikari (AIK Fotboll, Sweden), Mahatma Otoo (Hearts of Oak), Kwame Nsor (Metz, France).