GFA Communication Director Henry Asante Sheds Light on Baba Rahman’s Return to the Black Stars
The Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) Communications Director, Henry Asante Twum, has explained Baba Abdul Rahman’s return to the Black Stars ahead of the World Cup.
The former Asante Kotoko left-back from the 2011 to 2012 season has finally made it into the squad preparing for the friendly game against Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday, 2nd June 2026, stirring controversy among football enthusiasts in the country.
Carlos Queiroz, the new head coach, assigned left-back options to Gideon Mensah of Auxerre in Ligue 1 and Baba Abdul Rahman of PAOK FC in the Greek Super League.
The controversy on social media is that Derrick Arthur Köhn has been excluded from the squad for the preparatory game in Cardiff, which might be the final team for the Mundial in the northern part of America.
The GFA’s Communication Director, Henry Asante Twum, seized the opportunity to clarify to the nation the effort the previous head coach made to have Baba Rahman recalled and what made the newly appointed coach secure the players’ commitment to the team after a long hiatus following the World Cup in Qatar.
“And in the end, it was the decision of the coach, was it done on merit? Yes, it was done on merit. Baba had a good season, yes, he has been out of the team for some time since that unfortunate incident in Kumasi when he was booed by supporters in a game against the Central African Republic,” Asante clarified.
The communications director elaborated on the efforts Otto Addo made to have the experienced left-back gain a spot in the national team after that unfortunate circumstance at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
He said, “Let it be placed on record that Carlos may have been the one to successfully convince the player to return, but when Otto was around, he wanted him back. Even when Chris Hughton, under whose tutelage the player experienced such an unfortunate incident, also tried to meet with him and spoke to him, at that time the player felt he was not ready because he was physiologically not ready.”
