Otto Addo promises special focus on local players?

After being reappointed on a permanent basis, Black Stars head coach Otto Addo has promised to give players in the Ghana Premier League special focus.Head Coach of the Black Stars Otto Addo began a second tenure with the Black Stars after being given a two-and-a-half-year deal by the Ghana Football Association following a disastrous group stage exit at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, Coach Addo admitted being pressured to invite local players during his first stint with the Black Stars.He further stated that he will now closely monitor the progress of our local players by attending live matches of the Ghana Premier League.'The only pressure during my first spell was to invite local players, and now, after gaining a full-time appointment, I will look closer to the league.'I will observe the league live and not on video, and for me, when a player is good, he is good, and I don't care where he comes from or where he plays.?'If I like a player, I will take him, and I will look very closely to find players from the local league,' he said.Despite Otto Addo's promises to closely monitor home-based players, only one local player, Kotoko's Frederick Asare, was invited to his recent 27-man squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Mali and the Central African Republic.Otto Addo would begin his quest to qualify Ghana for the 2026 World Cup as he locks horns with Mali on June 6 before the Central African Republic in June in the 2026 World Cup qualifying doubleheaders.Source: Ghana News Agency