Ghana’s Black Stars have arrived in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, ahead of their opening fixture in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign.
The team travelled from Accra on Wednesday morning and arrived in Bouaké ahead of Thursday’s Group C encounter against the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire at the Stade de la Paix.
According to the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the Black Stars departed Accra at about 9:45 a.m. aboard a Ghana Air Force flight and arrived in Bouaké around 11:30 a.m.
The team was met on arrival by Ghana’s High Commissioner to Côte d’Ivoire, Brigadier General Alhassan Abu (Rtd), members of the Ghanaian community and representatives of the media before proceeding to their hotel.
The squad is scheduled to hold its official training session at the Stade de la Paix at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, giving head coach Carlos Queiroz an opportunity to make final preparations for the match.
The training session will also allow the players to familiarise themselves with the pitch ahead of Thursday’s encounter. A pre-match press conference is expected to follow the training session.
The Black Stars opened camp in Accra on Monday and conducted their initial preparations at the Accra Sports Stadium. Eighteen players took part in Tuesday’s training session as the squad continued to adjust following several withdrawals and late additions.
Ghana’s preparations have been affected by the unavailability of several players. Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, Thomas Partey, Jordan Ayew, Baba Rahman and Nathaniel Adjei are among those unavailable for the opening qualifiers, with injuries and other circumstances contributing to changes in the squad.
Queiroz has consequently made several additions to the team, including Rockson Yeboah, who has received his first senior call-up. Other players brought into the squad include Jonas Adjetey, Alidu Seidu, Ebenezer Annan, Rahim Ibrahim, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Mohammed Fuseini, Benjamin Tetteh and Felix Afena-Gyan.
Thursday’s match will be Ghana’s first competitive fixture in the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign. The Black Stars are in Group C alongside Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia and Somalia.
The match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Ghana time on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké.
Ghana missed the 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco and will be seeking qualification for the next edition, which will be hosted in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
After the trip to Côte d’Ivoire, the Black Stars are scheduled to return home for their next Group C fixture against The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium.
With preparations now entering the final stage, attention has turned to Queiroz’s team selection and how the Black Stars will cope with the absences as they begin their qualification campaign in Bouaké.
Source: Thepressradio.com
