Ghana's U-23 team captain, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, has expressed his strong desire to lead the team to the upcoming Olympic Games by performing well in the ongoing U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Barnieh is optimistic that the Black Meteors will finish among the top three in the tournament, thereby securing qualification for the global event set to take place in Paris next year.
“It means a lot to me to participate in the Olympic Games because it is one of the biggest competitions in the world. It’s a competition that has seen a lot of stars participate in over the years”, Barnieh stated.
Ghana has missed the last four editions of the Olympic Games, with their last participation occurring in 2004 in Athens, Greece.
In the previous edition, the team narrowly missed out on qualification when they failed to defeat South Africa in the third-place playoff in Egypt, which ruled them out of the Tokyo 2020 edition of the quadrennial event. However, Barnieh believes that the time is now right for the team to make a successful return.
The U-23 Africa Cup of Nations tournament commenced on Saturday, with hosts Morocco coming from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Guinea in the opening game.
Ghana's U-23 team will be looking to start their campaign on a positive note as they face Congo in their first match, which will be held at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium at 3pm GMT on Sunday.