Black Starlets head coach Dr. Prosper Narteh Ogum has officially brought to an end a rigorous seven-week screening exercise aimed at identifying Ghana’s next generation of U17 talents, following the final assessment of 34 players on Sunday.
The nationwide screening process, which involved five different batches of players, was designed to widen the talent pool ahead of Ghana’s participation in the 2026 U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to be played in Morocco. After the final assessment, 21 players have been selected to join the 23 players who represented Ghana at the 2025 WAFU U17 Championship in Ivory Coast, where the Black Starlets finished as silver medalists.
The combined group of 44 players will remain in camp for further training and evaluation as Dr. Ogum and his technical team work towards naming the final 23-squad for the continental tournament.
Speaking after the final assessment, Dr. Ogum described the exercise as demanding but highly rewarding.
“It has been a very strenuous seven weeks. We screened a lot of talented players across different batches, and the workload was heavy, but the outcome has been incredible,” he said.
The Black Starlets coach admitted that the quality on display has made the next phase of selection particularly challenging.
“The 21 players we are selecting are already giving us a serious selection headache. They are very good, and when you combine them with the quality of the WAFU silver-winning team, you realise that competition for places will be very tough,” Dr. Ogum noted.
He added that the technical team is pleased with the depth and balance emerging within the squad.
“What encourages us is the hunger, discipline, and tactical awareness we are seeing. It gives us confidence that we are building a very competitive team for the U17 AFCON,” he added.
Chairman of the National Juvenile Committee, JoeSalam Abubakar, who has always been with the team throughout their screening exercise was around during the final assessment phase of the exercise.
The Black Starlets will intensify training in camp as the coaching staff fine-tunes the squad, with the ultimate goal of mounting a strong challenge at the 2026 U17 AFCON in Morocco.
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