Ghana Football Association (GFA) Executive Council member George Amoako has revealed serious efforts are being made to get Tariq Lamptey to play for the Black Stars.
Tariq, born to Ghanaian parents in England, ie eligible to play for both countries. However, England have the edge, with the player featuring for their U-18, U-19, U-20 and recently U-21 teams.
“In fact when I was watching him [Lamptey] on TV, the first thing I did was to call a couple of people and it was clear that he will be a good player for our national team, the Black Stars,” Amoako, who is also management committee chairman of the Black Stars, told Nhyira FM.
“It is not going to be easy [to get him to switch international allegiance]. The national teams' department is making serious efforts to get his parents and the boy to agree to play for Ghana.
“But it’s not going to be easy. I don’t want to sound like its impossible, but it’s not going to be easy.
“Most of the [Ghanaian] players born in Europe, if you want to entice them to come and play for Ghana, it is very difficult. They mostly aspire to play for their country of birth or host countries. Even their parents don’t opt for their children playing for Ghana.”
Tariq joined Brighton in January from Chelsea and has become their first choice right back. On Monday, he was widely praised for his excellent performance against his former club in Premier League opener.