Unsurprisingly, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is late again on releasing the squad for another upcoming tournament.
This month’s Unity Cup is a competition of friendly that has been timely roped in to sustain the Black Stars narrative that had interest in it massively whipped up by the major positive prospects of Ghana qualifying to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Letting the FIFA window in the offseason slide without much activity ultimately hurts the Kurt Okraku led football group to an extent since qualification to another World Cup is likely to be the only thing the GFA can hang its hat on when it’s all said and done.
Taking place from May 27 to May 31 in London sandwiched between a long and arduous season and the revamped FIFA Club World Cup, the Unity Cup screams of a competition that shouldn’t involve any of the Black Stars regulars and Nigeria has shown the way Team Ghana should follow.
Missing from Nigeria’s Super Eagles team are the likes of established veterans Victor Osimhen, Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo.
However, players who are yet to establish themselves with the team including relative new entrants Cyril Dessers and Nathan Tella are prominent in the list of players called up for the tournament.
Playing against Nigeria is the only headline grabbing matchup since Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica don’t look to offer much in terms of quality of play and resistance to Ghana winning its first title since lifting the Zenith Cup prior to the 2008 AFCON.
Black Stars regulars Gideon Mensah, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, Jordan Ayew and Inaki Williams are players who shouldn’t be called up as they rest and in some cases, time to sort out transfer related issues.
Ghana’s Black Stars have a fulcrum but needs the complementary pieces to make it a better team from top to bottom.
Going back to the GFA having little to hang its hat on, the lowly ranked Ghana Premier League is one of the biggest disappointing marks for Kurt Okraku and one major way of propping up its value and marketing the league as it should, is by having a significant number of GPL players in the Black Stars for the Unity Cup.
For the record, the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) ranked the GPL 92nd in the world behind Nicaragua (55), Kosovo (58), Albania (63), Guatemala (72) and Venezuela (87) per its 2024 rankings.
Black Stars head coach Otto Addo won over a lot of Ghanaians by starting Hearts of Oak keeper Benjamin Asare. While the quality in the GPL is quite suspect, there are still enough standout players who deserve to play in London later this month.
Benjamin Asare
The 32 year old shot stopper distinguished himself very well on his Black Stars debut against Chad and in the subsequent 2026 World Cup qualifier against Madagascar and between him and Razak Simpson, should be the first Ghana based player named in the squad. After leading the GPL with 16 clean sheets while at Accra Great Olympics, Asare has already matched that feat this season with Accra Hearts of Oak with three games left to play.
Kamaradini Mamudu
The right back hasn’t had much opportunity with the Black Stars but his call up to the team indicates how he is rated by the Black Stars handlers. Bagging eight goals and two assists in 24 GPL appearances is a brilliant return for a defender.
Razak Simpson
As one of the standout performers in Ghana’s disastrous 2025 AFCON qualifiers, Simpson has gone to establish himself as a must-have in the National team. Proving his run out in the AFCON qualification wasn’t a fluke, Simpson has continued to excel by delivering banging goals for GPL leaders Nations FC.
🔥| 65’ GOOAL
RAZAK SIMPSON with a trademark strike to give us the lead. ☄️#AHOSC 🌈 – 🟠 #NFC | 0️⃣-1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/0esKFjuqF0
— Nations Football Club (@nationsfcgh) April 3, 2025
Kwame Opoku
A return to the Ghanaian top flight after a foreign stint has proved a correct career decision as the striker has produced nine goals and two assists in 16 league games aside scoring important goals for Kotoko to make it to the MTN FA Cup Final game. Beyond Jerry Afriyie, Opoku is a player who deserves to be called up to the squad.
Justice Blay
Elisha Owusu, Partey, Majeed Ashimeru and Ibrahim Sulemana are locks for Ghana’s central midfield positions but with injuries an existential threat to Partey and Ashimeru, options are needed and Blay’s skills fit the bill.
Stephen Amankona
Amankona has been a consistent force in the GPL which isn’t something you hear or see everyday in the GPL. The former Kumasi Asante Kotoko player has 13 goals in 24 league games with enough opportunities to add to that tally with three games left in the season.
Hussein Mohammed
The creative midfielder has been a beacon of consistency scheming, creating space for himself and playing in balls that haven’t maximized his creativity for an Accra Hearts of Oak side that is anything but consistent throughout the season.
Kelvin Osei Asibey
Another Hearts of Oak player who makes this list is its top defender who has contributed his fair share to Benjamin Asare’s clean sheet count.
Patrick Asiedu
A modern full back who is very comfortable operating as a wing back, Asiedu is a constant threat down the left with his marauding runs and crosses. The Black Stars have needed this type of speed and tenacity in a position that still has questions written all over it though Gideon Mensah has been in the team for a while.
Faisal Charwetey
Ghana tends to get goals from its wingers/wing forwards and one of the biggest discoveries in the GPL happens to be a guy who plays that role and has 11 goals and an assist in 27 league games. With pretty much all of Ghana’s wing forward options set to miss the Unity Cup, selecting Charwetey is an absolute must.
Rudolf Mensah
The Swedru All Blacks striker has enjoyed a sensational campaign in the Access Bank Division One scoring 24 goals in 24 league games while leading the Swedru team’s quest to return to the top flight division. Jerry Afriyie made his debut and scored for the Black Stars while at Division Two side Thoughts FC so having Mensah suit in London isn’t a far fetched idea.
Honourable Mentions: Nurudeen Abdulai- Medeama, Ebenezer Abban- Heart of Lions, Baba Hamadu Musa-FC Samartex