Black Stars' technical team visit Liverpool FC
Two members of the technical team of the Black Stars, Ghana’s senior national football team, are visiting English Premier League side, Liverpool Football Club (LFC), on an observation tour as part of their preparations towards this year’s World Cup in Brazil.
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This opportunity was made possible through an agreement between the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), headline sponsors of the Black Stars, and Standard Chartered Bank, sponsors of Liverpool Football Club.
Under the arrangement, Black Stars Manager Kwasi Appiah will be accompanied on the trip by the goalkeepers’ trainer, Nassam Yakubu to observe the team’s preparations for and activities during matches, and to also share ideas.
It is expected that the success achieved so far by Liverpool Manager, Brendan Rodgers, and his technical team in the Premier League, would serve as a learning opportunity for the Black Stars Manager, who is looking forward to a better performance for his team at this year’s mundial.
The Black Stars will be making their third appearance at football’s greatest showpiece this June and have been grouped with Germany, USA and Portugal in Group G.
A release from Stanchart quoted the Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), Mr Alex Mould, as saying that “We are delighted to have secured this arrangement with Standard Chartered for our Black Stars’ technical team to shape up in the UK especially at this time that the English Premier League has become a thriller; and we are hopeful that this tour will go a long way in helping Kwasi Appiah and his team prepare adequately for the World Cup.”
The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Kwasi Nyantakyi, also noted that “We are grateful to GNPC and their partners for giving the technical team of the Black Stars the chance to observe some of the best methods of preparing for matches through this visit to Liverpool. This will positively impact on the team and will go a long way in helping them bring glory to the country”.
On his part, the Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited, Mr Kweku Bedu-Addo, said “We are happy to provide a platform which should significantly improve the potential for success for the Black Stars in Brazil this June.”
He said “Liverpool FC has been hugely supportive of this effort and I’d like to extend our thanks to them for their help. We know Ghanaians are very passionate about football and this should be one way of making the World Cup outing exciting for Ghana.”