Derek Boateng supports Afena-Gyan’s decision to reject Black Meteors call up

Derek Boateng, a former Black Stars midfielder, has expressed his support for Felix Afena-Gyan’s decision to decline the invitation to play for the Black Meteors in the 2023 U-23 AFCON qualifiers.

The Cremonese attacker turned down the call-up to feature for the Ghana U-23 team in their game against Algeria in Kumasi, which the Black Meteors won 1-0 to qualify for the tournament.

Some Ghanaian football fans have criticized Afena-Gyan for his decision, but Boateng believes that the player was not treated fairly by the Ghana Football Association (GFA). Although Afena-Gyan played a crucial role in the Black Stars’ qualification for the World Cup 2022, he was not included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament in Qatar.

Boateng stated that Ghanaians have been unfair to Afena-Gyan, and he supports the player’s decision to decline the invitation.

He believes that football is not only about on-field performance, but also about having a sound mindset. Boateng cited Afena-Gyan’s outstanding performance in the team’s two matches against Nigeria, where he fought against four Nigerian defenders as evidence of his talent.

Boateng expressed his disappointment that Afena-Gyan was not invited to the World Cup and is now being asked to play for the U-23 team.

He mentioned that Afena-Gyan’s management has stated that he is not ready to play for the team, and Boateng supports this decision.

“I really think Ghanaians haven’t been fair to that boy so right now that he has turned down an invitation, I support it. Football now is not about going to the field and performing a lot of things adds up that people don’t care about and only blame players that they don’t perform,” Derek Boateng stated on Asempa FM.

“Football is about the brain so if you don’t have a sound mindset you can never perform. In our two matches against Nigeria, he was our best player. He was the player that was fighting four Nigerian defenders because we were playing one top. He did everything possible, we qualified for the World Cup and they didn’t invite him and now they want him for under 23 and his management said he is not ready,” he stated.

The former Fulham midfielder urged the GFA to send a delegation to Italy to convince the player to play for the Black Meteors if the country is determined to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris.

“If the FA thinks about him and his mental issues, they have to take a plane there and talk to him so that he feels important. This under-23 AFCON that they want to go, they will need him if they want to win. They have to call him not on phone but by going to see him in person.

“He needs to feel that we care about him because these are the things we do that make us lose good players. He is a young player so if you do that to him, then you are killing him. The FA know the right thing to do”, Derek Boateng said.