Former Ghana international defender Habib Mohammed has sparked controversy by rejecting calls for the inclusion of home-based players in the Black Stars.
The 37-year-old, who played for King Faisal and Asante Kotoko, believes that the local league needs to be competitive before considering selecting players from the domestic scene.
“It’s too early to call for the inclusion of home-based players into the Black Stars. I played the Black Stars as a local player in 2006, I think we need to ask ourselves how good and strong our local league was at that time. The league was very competitive,” Mohammed said in an interview with Kessben FM.
He also emphasized that he earned his call-up to the Black Stars due to his outstanding performance in the local league.
“I won the overall best defender in the 2004/2005 league season. So I merited the call up. So now the best thing we need to do is to put the right things in order so our local league can be very competitive like it used to. And when that happens any local player that will earn a call up, will be merited.”
Mohammed’s comments have sparked debate among football fans and pundits, who argue that the exclusion of home-based players has hindered the growth of the local game.
The Black Stars recently ended their winless run with back-to-back wins in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, but only one home-based player, Frederick Asare, was included in the squad.
