Frimpong Manso leads nationwide hunt for Ghana’s next Black Starlets

Frimpong Manso is on a mission to discover the next generation of talents for Ghana’s U-17 national team, the Black Starlets.

The Bibiani Goldstars FC head coach has been touring the country, scouting promising young footballers in a structured selection process. Manso revealed that the initial phase aims to identify over 200 players from various regions before further assessments narrow down the final squad.

“This is just the beginning. After the regional scouting, we will evaluate the numbers and split them into two groups. They will then assemble at Prampram for the next phase, where we will trim the list to around 200 to 300 players,” Manso told 3Sports.

He also highlighted a challenge in talent distribution, noting that many young players relocate to cities like Accra and Kumasi at an early age, affecting the spread of talent across the regions.

Some of the aspiring players who attended the scouting session in Takoradi expressed their excitement at the opportunity to represent Ghana.

“I’m happy to be selected because there were so many of us here today. My goal is to join the national team and represent my country, so I’ll work hard to achieve that,” one young player said.

The Black Starlets have struggled in recent years to qualify for major international tournaments, including the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. Manso attributed this to a new qualification format that begins at the regional level.

“The change in format has made things more difficult. Now, we have to go through WAFU, where we compete against strong teams like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Burkina Faso. Only two teams qualify, unlike the previous system where more teams advanced.

“For us, the WAFU stage is even tougher than the later rounds,” he explained.

Manso’s scouting efforts recently landed in Takoradi as he continues his nationwide search for Ghana’s next football stars.

By: Francis Hema

 

The post Frimpong Manso leads nationwide hunt for Ghana’s next Black Starlets first appeared on 3News.

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