Meet the 7 football stars who were born outside Ghana but play/played for Ghana
- Ghana has lost many players to some European countries
- Other Ghanaian footballers who were born outside also decided to play for Ghana
In football, the nationality switch has become a norm as any player can choose the country he or she wants to represent.
In the past, per FIFA’s law if you play for the junior side of a particular country you can switch your nationality, but now, the law has been amended.
Following the amendment of the law, it has given room for many players to change their nationalities despite playing for the junior side of a particular country.
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In Ghana's case, it has been 50-50 as certain players whose parents are Ghanaians but were born outside chose to play for the said country like Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Other players too decided to play for Ghana despite been born outside the country.
YEN.com.gh has put together a list of Ghanaian football stars who chose to feature for the senior national team of Ghana, the Black Stars, despite been born in other countries.
1. Kevin-Prince Boateng
The on-loan Barcelona man was born in Germany to a Ghanaian father and German mother.
Boateng featured for the junior national team of Germany and many believed he would continue to play for the senior team.
But prior to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Boateng switched nationality as he opted for Ghana. In that tournament he gave a good account of himself playing fives and scoring once.
He has capped 15 times for Ghana, scoring two goals in the process.
2. Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Owusu-Abeyie was born in Holland to Ghanaian parents. He then featured for Holland at the youth level.
But in 2007 he requested for a nationality switch and he was granted.
His first tournament in Black Stars’ shirt was in 2008 when Ghana hosted the AFCON. At the end of the campaign Ghana won bronze.
He has so far featured 18 times and has scored two goals.
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3. Jeffrey Schlupp
Schlupp was born to Ghanaian parents in Hamburg, Germany, on 23 December 1992, and raised mostly in England after his family moved there when he was young.
He could have chosen to play for Germany or England but he opted for Ghana.
The Leicester City versatile player started playing for Ghana in 2011 and he has now featured 15 times, scoring one goal.
4. Kwesi Appiah
The AFC Wimbledon forward was born in England and he was eligible to play for the European country and Ghana.
However, he couldn’t reject Ghana’s invitation when he was called into the 31-man provisional squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
]He made his debut in Ghana's 2–1 win over South Africa on January 27, 2015 and scored his first international goal in the quarter-final victory match against Guinea.
5. Caleb Ekuban
The Trabzonspor forward was born in Villafranca di Verona, Italy to Ghanaian parents. Ekuban declared for the Ghana national football team.
On April 20, 2018, Ekuban met with Ghana national team head coach Akwasi Appiah. In March 2019, Ekuban was called up to represent Ghana for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
He scored his first competitive goal for the Black Stars of Ghana on his debut against the Harambee Stars of Kenya in an AFCON Qualifier on March 23, 2019 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Two days later, Ekuban scored his second goal for Ghana in a friendly game against Mauritania in Accra.
6. Adam Kwarasey
Kwarasey was born in Oslo, Norway to a father from Ghana and a mother from Norway. He holds both Ghanaian and Norwegian passports.
In November 2007, Kwarasey declared that he would play international football for Ghana. However he played a friendly match for Norway under-21 in 2008.
He made his international debut for Ghana on 2 September 2011 in an 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Swaziland, before playing in a friendly match against Brazil at Craven Cottage in London three days later.
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7. Albert Adomah
The Aston Villa attacking midfielder holds both a Ghanaian passport and a British passport.
Adomah made his international debut when coming on as a substitute for Ghana in their 1–0 defeat against Brazil on September 5, 2011 at Craven Cottage.
He broke through the national team to book his place in Ghana's provisional 26-man squad for the 2013 African Cup of Nations.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
