Ghana shortlisted to host WAFU U17 Championship
Ghana is among the two countries being considered with an opportunity to host the West Africa Football Union ‘B’ U17 Championship next month.
According to reports, Ghana has been selected alongside Niger for the chance of hosting the seven countries in the region for the youth competition.
The two countries are therefore been asked to present their bids for consideration for a tournament which is fully funded by the organisers.
West Africa Football Union B (WAFU B) secretariat in Ivory Coast is expected to contact the GFA in the coming hours to give Ghana the chance of hosting the competition.
Landing the rights to host the competition would be a massive boost for sports in Ghana as it gives the country the chance to show its prowess to the continent.
It also gives Ghana the opportunity to host the competition that would bring massive business activity to the region where the matches would be staged.
Hotels, food, transportation, and other facilities to be used during the competition are all funded by WAFU and CAF which means more business opportunities for Ghanaians.
That is because unlike the other tournament, the WAFU B Championship is fully funded by WAFU and CAF which bring no costs to the government of the hosting country.
Food vendors, hotels housing visiting teams and supporters, transport and taxi businesses will be positively affected to boost pockets of locals just before Christmas. The tournament industry will also be positively affected.
It also gives the country the chance to spark national unity while raising the profile of the country and host cities to audiences abroad as matches will be broadcast on television stations home and abroad.
With Ghana hosting the tournament, the Black Starlets stand a great chance of qualifying for the 2021 U17 Afcon in Morocco next year.
With the Black Starlets struggling to qualify for the African championship in recent times because of the new qualifying format, massive home support during the tournament will help Ghana to qualify.
This makes hosting the tournament an advantage of the Black Starlets as they seek to return to the world stage after some years of absence.
The upcoming Wafu B Cup will serve as qualifiers for the 2021 U17 Afcon in Morocco, where the four quarter-finalists will earn tickets for the 2021 U17 World Cup.
The countries to participate in the competition are Nigeria, Benin Togo, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
The rest of the countries expected to play in the tournament are Ghana, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.