There was no local player named in the 25-man squad that will take on Angola in the AFCON 2023 doubleheader against Angola.

Many have questioned why there was no local player named in the squad while there has been some good performance from many in the local scene.

But the assistant coach of the Black Stars, Masaud Didi Dramani has offered reasons why the 25-man squad has no local player.

According to Didi Dramani, they wanted consistency which is why no new players especially a local player were invited.

“I think it goes with consistency and closeness of games. It is very important not to overstate that he (Chris Hughton) releases his squad and then no local player is in there. I think when we start doing that then I think we are pre-emptying on the negativities and I think that we are paying much attention to the local league as you can see me coming out to watch lot of the games,” Didi Dramani said in an interview with Citi Sports.

“When you look at the team, It is made of a consistent squad and we want to remain consistent when the decision not to invite any local player.

“The Black Stars is a team in progress and so the team will continuously be consistent in their approach. The team is a work in progress and so what you find is actually what is needed at the shortest possible time. In the longest possible time, in this era, you need to look out for things that will give you immediate team structure, you don’t have time.

“The team is playing on Thursday and then on Monday so there’s no time for you to be thinking about processes where you need players to have the chance to have strong integration and then adaptation.

“This is the time to be thinking about who to bring and then immediately you are able to get what you need, there’s no time in this period. These periods are very short-lived so we need to acknowledge the importance of the timelines.”

The  Black Stars will face Angola at the Baba Yara Stadium on 23rd March, 2023 before traveling to Luanda four days later.