Black Stars new boy Inaki Williams says that he has the support of his club side Athletic Bilbao to play for Ghana as they wanted him to be happy.

Despite playing for Spain in the past, the Basque-born striker decided to switch nationality and play for the West African nation.

Athletic Bilbao striker Inaki Williams on 6th July 2022 officially announced that his nationality switch to Ghana has been completed, and is ready to play for the Black Stars of Ghana despite turning down overtures from the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in the past.

Speaking to the BBC, he disclosed that the club President sent him an emotional message as soon as the announcement was made.

"The current president Aitor Elizegi always wanted me to make that choice because he felt it would've made me happy," he said.

"I think he feels happy and proud I have made that decision. Aitor sent me an emotive message as soon as I released the statement. I will always be grateful to him for being so supportive and understanding my feelings."
The striker was born in the Basque region of Spain to a Ghanaian mother and a Liberian father who sought asylum in Spain some years back.

Ghana had made attempts to convince the striker to commit his future to them but it failed as he said at the time that he prefers to play for the land of his birth Spain.

He made his debut for Spain in 2016 in a friendly match against Bosnia Herzegovina which still made him eligible to play for the Black Stars of Ghana.

But since then he had been overlooked by subsequent Spain managers but with time running out for the Bilbao striker he has now taken solace in playing for Ghana, especially at the World Cup in Qatar.

Inaki is one of two footballing brothers born to Ghanaian immigrants, the other being 19-year-old Nico Williams, who also plays for Athletic and made his professional debut this year.