National U-15 Boys head coach Salifu Fatawu has expressed excitement with the performance of his boys after leading Ghana to a 7th place finish at the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan.
Ghana placed 7th out of 189 countries after winning eight of their ten matches, including a commanding 4-0 victory over Colombia in their final game, despite suffering a 7-1 defeat to Brazil in the Tier A Ranking Play-Offs.
Speaking after the tournament, Coach Fatawu praised his players for coping with the intensity of the competition.
“Well, considering the preparation we had in Ghana before coming to Azerbaijan for this competition, I would say I’m very excited and happy with the performance of the boys,” Fatawu said.
“It wasn’t easy, looking at the nature of the tournament, the intensity aspect of the games we play, and the boys are able to cope up with that and placing Ghana 7th in the competition, I think that they’ve done well. Out of 189 countries and Ghana is 7th, though we came with the mindset of winning the trophy, at least for being the first time, I think that didn’t happen, but I must say I’m so excited with the performance of the boys.”
The coach believes the group has a bright future and commended FIFA for the initiative.
“I believe this group of boys have a future, and Ghana football itself has a future with this kind of young talent that we have. Also, looking at the organisational aspect of this programme, I would say FIFA has done so well by initiating something like this. I’m sure the future is bright when the boys get to competitions at this early age.”
“I’m sure before they get to 17 and 20, they’ll be prepared and ready for competitions like this,” he added.
Coach Fatawu also thanked the Ghana Football Association for its support.
“I would also want to use this opportunity to thank the FA for making sure Ghana was part of it, and the support they gave to us from day one till here, I would say they should keep it up and we’ll also do our best to make sure that Ghana will always announce itself any way we find ourselves.” he added.
