Ghana’s decision to send the Black Starlets to Burkina Faso by road for the WAFU Zone B U-17 Championship has prompted concerns over the safety and welfare of the country’s young players.
The tournament will be held in Ouagadougou from October 10 to 23, 2026. The winners and first runner-up will qualify for next year’s Africa U-17 Championship.
Ghana’s Under-17 side is travelling by bus from Prampram to Ouagadougou, a road journey of about 960 kilometres.
Hon. Seth Panwum Boyoyo, the former Acting Director-General of the National Sports Authority, says the players should not have been required to make such a lengthy journey by road, particularly across international borders.
His concerns focus on the security situation in parts of the Sahel, where militant activity and instability remain issues. Boyoyo believes Ghanaian security agencies can manage risks within the country, but that protecting the team becomes more difficult once it enters neighbouring states.
He cited the 2010 attack on the Togo national team in Angola as an incident Ghana should learn from, arguing that greater priority must be given to the safety of its young footballers.
“Who in his private capacity would subject his sons and nephews to the ordeal the GFA has subjected the under-17 boys to?”
Wider concerns over youth development
Boyoyo says the 960km journey reflects a broader decline in Ghana’s youth football system.
Ghana won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1991 and 1995 and became recognised as one of the leading nations in youth football. However, he believes the country has lost much of that advantage and is no longer regularly producing players who progress from the junior national teams to the Black Stars.
He identified Issahaku Fatawu as the only player he considers to have made a significant journey from the Under-17 level, through the Under-20s, to the senior national team since 2019.
Boyoyo also alleged that selection for some of Ghana’s junior national teams has not always been based solely on merit, specifically mentioning players linked to Dreams FC.
The claims remain allegations, but Boyoyo says they underline the need for a full review of how Ghana develops its young players.
Call for improved welfare
He is urging the authorities to improve the arrangements for Ghana’s junior national teams, including transport, accommodation, food, equipment and general player welfare.
Boyoyo’s view is that representing Ghana at youth level should be a source of pride rather than an ordeal.
“The boys deserve better as Ghanaians.”
As the Black Starlets continue their journey to Burkina Faso, the dispute has moved beyond the suitability of one particular trip. It has raised wider questions about whether Ghana is doing enough to protect, prepare and develop the players expected to become the next generation of Black Stars.
By Emmanuel Owusu
