Iñaki Williams confirms Ghana nationality switch, Tariq Lamptey, Mohammed Salisu, others to follow suit
Athletic Bilbao forward, Iñaki Williams has confirmed his nationality switch to play for the Black Stars of Ghana ahead of the 2023 AFCON qualifers and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Iñaki was in Ghana at the start of last month with his younger brother, Nico for vacation and held talks with the Ghana Football Association over a possible nationality switch.
In a video posted on his Twitter page to confirm his decision, Iñaki Williams said “today a new challenge begins, from now onwards, I will defend the shirt of Ghana”.
Iñaki earlier expressed reservations about switching nationalities for Ghana in an interview last year, saying, “My parents are from Accra, and I really enjoy going but I wasn’t born or raised there, my culture is here, and there are players who would mean more. I don’t think it would be right to take the place of someone who really deserves to go and feels Ghana 100%”.
However, a lot has changed since the interview, including the Black Stars qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a huge platform that many players dream of.
It remains to be seen if Nico Williams, the younger brother of Iñaki will follow suit and also represent the Black Stars of Ghana
In addition to Iñaki Williams, Ghana FA President Kurt Okraku confirmed on Facebook that five more players are available for selection in the next round of games before the World Cup.
After a long chase, Mohammed Salisu, Stephan Ambrosius, Patric Pfeffer, Ransford Yeboah and Tariq Lamptey will soon be announcing their nationality switch as Inaki has done.
The Black Stars of Ghana will take on Angola in a double header for the 2023 AFCON qualifers and then move straight to the World Cup where they are in Group H and will take on Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea in the group stage of the competition which commences on November 21, 2022.