Black Stars coach Kwasi Appiah and his lieutenants are expected in Liverpool this weekend for an attachment, which is expected to enhance their technical expertise as part of Ghana’s preparation for the FIFA World Cup which starts in Brazil in three months’ time.
Appiah and his assistant, Maxwell Konadu, and goalkeepers’ trainer Nasamu Yakubu, are due to travel from Accra to London en route to Liverpool, for an arranged exercise to help deepen their insights in team preparation ahead of matches.
They will be attached to Liverpool and observe how Brendan Rogers and his technical team prepare the title-chasing Anfield side for Premiership matches and also exchange ideas with their hosts.
The trip, according to Ghana Football Association spokesman, Ibrahim Sannie Daara, was facilitated by the Black Stars headline sponsor, GNPC, through one of its external partners.
Although a deal for a three-man team, Appiah could add two additional technical staff if he so desires, the GFA Communications Director confirmed.
Appiah recently returned from a similar working visit at English Premiership side Manchester City, during which he shared ideas with Manuel Pellegrini and other coaches for a week at their Carrington training base, as part of a technical agreement between the GFA and the club.
Mr Sannie Daara told the Graphic Sports that the FA decided to make good use of the Liverpool arrangement as part of efforts to expose Coach Appiah to modern trends and the best practises possible in order to sharpen his technical knowledge ahead of the World Cup where Ghana has been pitted against USA and the European duo of Germany and Portugal.
Meanwhile, Cabinet’s approval of a GH¢24,677,025 budget for Ghana’s World Cup campaign effectively set the Black Stars preparation in motion as it has been established that the players will receive $75,000 each as appearance fee and a winning bonus of $15,000 -- the same incentives they received at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The government will release GH¢10,500,000 to the FA for the Stars’ participation in the first group stage of the competition, with a further amount of GH¢14,177,025 also budgeted to cover the team’s expenses if they qualify for subsequent stages of the competition.
