Former Ghana striker, Augustine Ahinful has emphasized that the Black Stars, cannot solely rely on locally based players.
This comes amidst suggestions to build the team primarily around domestic talent in order to strengthen it.
While Ahinful recognizes the importance of integrating talented local players into the national setup, he stresses the need for a balanced approach.
He suggests that while a few local players should be given the opportunity to gain experience with the Black Stars, it is unwise to depend solely on them to deliver results in major tournaments.
''I'm not saying some of them don't deserve to be in the team. I'm saying that some players should join the national team to gain experience and build themselves into the team properly, but we cannot rely solely on local players for the Black Stars," he told Graphic Sports.
Ahinful reminisced about past generations of the Black Stars, where the majority of the squad was composed of locally based players.
However, he acknowledged that football has evolved since then, with more players now playing abroad.
He highlighted the maturity and experience of past local players, contrasting them with the current crop who, he believes, might not be as prepared for the demands of international competition.
''Gone are the days when players were very mature. Back then, all the backline players of the national team were locally based. When I started following the national team, almost 80 per cent were local-based because professional football outside of Ghana was not as common,'' he said.
Meanwhile, the Black Stars will be reassembled for their 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) in June for the Matchday three and four games.