CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v62), quality = 90Former Sports Minister Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has stirred fresh debate over player selection for the Ghana national team, insisting that no locally based footballer currently meets the standard required for the Black Stars.Speaking on Citi FM’s Sports Panorama on Friday, April 3, 2026, Vanderpuye singled out Benjamin Asare, widely regarded as one of the top performers in the Ghana Premier League, arguing that even he falls short at the highest level. He cited errors in Ghana’s recent 2-1 friendly defeat to Germany as evidence of a broader quality gap among local players.”When I hear calls to include local players, I sometimes laugh. How is it possible? They play like colts players,” he said.”Who are these local players? The standard is poor. Name three who are good enough to start.”On Asare, who has been a regular fixture in the Black Stars setup, Vanderpuye was blunt.”Even Benjamin Asare is a problem. He may be the best goalkeeper in the country, but he lacks many things. Against Germany, he came out twice, and both situations were disasters.”His comments come amid growing calls for greater inclusion of home-based players, with many arguing that the long-standing preference for foreign-based Ghanaian footballers has overlooked domestic talent.The criticism also comes against a difficult period for the Black Stars, who failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nationstheir first absence since 2004followed by a winless campaign at the 2023 AFCON and a drop to 74th in the latest FIFA rankings.For Vanderpuye, the solution does not lie in promoting local players but in improving the domestic league’s overall standard. Until then, he believes the gap remains too wide to bridge.
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