Ghana's Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Brigadier General Alhassan Abu (Rtd), on Thursday morning paid a morale-boosting visit to the Black Satellites at their team base in Yamoussoukro as they continued preparations for their decisive Group B encounter against Burkina Faso at the 2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship.
The Ambassador was accompanied by Philip Obeng, Ghana's Consul, and officials from the Ghana Embassy, where they interacted with the players, technical staff and team officials in a show of solidarity ahead of the crucial fixture.
The delegation also presented the team with water and soft drinks to support the players as they geared up for the important clash.
Welcoming the delegation, Chairman of the Black Satellites Management Committee, Alhaji Abu-Hassan Mahamadu (Rhyzo), expressed heartfelt appreciation to the Ambassador for taking time out of his schedule to personally encourage the team.
"You could have sent a delegation to represent you, but you chose to come in person, and that in itself says a lot about your leadership. Beyond that, you have also brought water and soft drinks to energise the boys as they prepare to go out there and make Ghana proud," Alhaji Abu-Hassan Mahamadu said.
The Management Committee Chairman also urged the players to put their opening defeat behind them and channel their full focus towards the remaining group matches.
"The word of advice to the team is that, even though we lost the first match, we should put that result behind us, learn from the mistakes and ensure that we win the two matches ahead of us to qualify for the semi-finals."
The Black Satellites face Burkina Faso later on Thursday in a must-win encounter following their opening defeat to defending champions Nigeria. Victory would significantly revive Ghana's hopes of progressing to the knockout stage before the team concludes its Group B campaign against Togo on Sunday.
Kick-off for Thursday's highly anticipated West African derby is scheduled for 18:00 GMT (6pm local time) at the Lycée Scientifique Stadium, where the Black Satellites will be aiming to produce a strong response and get their campaign back on track.
