Former Ghana and Asante Kotoko legend Frimpong Manso has said that Ghana's junior national teams are unable to perform at the top level because they use to cheat in the past.
Ghana's U-17 team won the FIFA U-17 World Cup title twice in the 1990s after being in three consecutive finals.
With the introduction of the Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to help detect the age of players, most African teams have not been dominant at the level.
The Asante Kotoko legend was speaking on the 25th anniversary of Ghana’s U-17 World Cup triumph at Equador 1995.
“In the olden days, we used over-aged players for the U17 competitions and we are now suffering in the long run. Back then there was no MRI to check the real age of players so we used over-aged players,”
“In the olden days, we used over-aged players for the U17 competitions and we are now suffering in the long run. Back then there was no MRI to check the real age of players so we used over-aged players”, he told Happy FM.
“We don’t get time for the youth side and our obsession of always wanting to win is a problem.
He added, “I am happy that right now we’ve U15 side so let’s prepare them with a good progressing plan because our planning has always been wrong”.
Ghana first won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1991, but they lost the title against Nigeria in 1993 and reclaimed it in 1995 to win their second trophy.