Former Ghana striker Augustine Ahinful has expressed reservations about calls to exclusively build Ghana’s senior national team around local-based players.

Ahinful, who earned 19 caps for the Black Stars during his playing career, believes that while local talents should be considered, they might not be equipped to carry the team on their own on the international stage.

Ahinful’s comments come amidst growing debate about the composition of the Black Stars and the role of domestic players in the squad.

However, in an exclusive interview with Graphic Sports, the 49-year-old cautioned against dismissing the contributions of foreign-based players, citing their experience and exposure to higher levels of competition as crucial factors in the team’s success.

Selecting the best

”So, the local players, yes, we can look at the best ones and select them into the national team, but we can’t say that we should use the local players alone to play the national team,” he stated.

The former striker highlighted the disappointing performance of the local Black Stars during the recent Championship of Africa Nations (CHAN) tournament in Algeria as a case in point.

Ghana failed to advance past the group stage, prompting Ahinful to question the readiness of local players to compete at the highest level without the support of their more experienced counterparts.