James Kwesi Appiah, the head coach of Sudan's national football team, has expressed confidence in Ghana's Black Stars' chances of success in the upcoming tournament in Ivory Coast.
At the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), James Kwesi Appiah, the 2012 Coach of the Year winner from the Sports Writer’s Association (SWAG), has taken on two distinct roles as a head coach and player.
James Kwesi Appiah, the first black African coach to lead Ghana to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, was a member of the Black Stars’ 1982 AFCON-winning team and served as head coach when they competed in Egypt in 2019.
The 27-man squad assembled by Chris Hughton for the 34th edition of the continent’s most prestigious football competition is currently stationed in Kumasi, where they are intensively preparing for the highly anticipated tournament.
The team will play a pre-tournament friendly against Namibia on Monday, January 8, 2024, at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium before departing Ghana for Ivory Coast.
James Kwesi Appiah was at the Black Stars training ground at the Dr. Kwame Kyei Sports Stadium in Abrankese to watch the team train, and he spoke with Sienu TV on YouTube about the team’s chances.
James Kwesi Appiah, the former left-back for Asante Kotoko from 1983 to 1993, told Sheikh Tophic of Sienu TV that whenever the Black Stars performed well in an AFCON competition, Ghanaians looked down on the team.
“You see, sometimes when Ghanaians underrate the team, which is when the team surprises Ghana. And it’s happened so many times. Looking at the quality of the players, I think they can perform very well. I believe they can get to the final,” Kwesi Appiah explicated.
Ghana will begin its group stage campaign with a match against Cape Verde on Sunday, January 14, 2024.
