Home-based players must earn Black Stars places - Asamoah Gyan

Former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has urged players in the Ghana Premier League to demonstrate they can perform at the highest international level if they want to break into the national team.

The comments come amid ongoing debate over a quota system for local players in the Black Stars ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Some argue that it is important so local clubs can benefit from the FIFA programme that is awarding clubs money for the use of their players at the tournament.

“For me, it comes back to what I said before, like the generational thing. When you talk about our time, you could see local players who can compete,” he told Channel One TV.

“I’m not saying this generation cannot compete, but they have to show us something.

“When I came, I was a local player. I came to substitute a foreign-based player; I was able to deliver.

“Ghana had to use Hearts of Oak, the whole squad, to compete against Nigeria, who had Jay-Jay Okocha and the others at that high level.

“You could see players competing. So when you are campaigning about local players, nobody can talk about it.

“It’s like we are playing in the local league, everything is okay, but can you compete internationally?

“When we talk about the Black Stars, it’s about international football. We don’t compete against local teams; we compete against international teams.

“So if you’re a local player and you cannot compete internationally, how do you expect to be part of the Black Stars?”

A Black Stars squad made up of local and Olympic players have been selected to face Mexico on May 22 as the team continues preparations for the 2026 World Cup.