Twenty-four players travelled to the Western Region for two 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Somalia, the first of which is on Thursday.
Ghana's senior national football team, the Black Stars, are in Takoradi this week for two Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches against Somalia.
The squad arrived in the Western Region late on Tuesday night, travelling down after wrapping up a final session at the Accra Sports Stadium. Daily Guide Network reports that 24 players made the trip, with head coach Kim Lars Björkegren leading the group into what is a decisive stretch of the qualifying campaign.
The fixtures
The first game against Somalia is scheduled for Thursday, November 12. The return leg follows on Monday, November 16, 2026, meaning the two sides will meet twice within five days.
Playing both legs in Takoradi gives the Black Stars a home base for the week and spares the squad a mid-week international trip between fixtures. It also hands football fans in the Western Region a rare chance to watch the national team in back-to-back competitive action.
Who is missing
Only two players named in the set-up were absent when camp opened in Accra: defender Alidu Seidu and Marvin Senaya. Both remain out of the travelling party, so the coaching staff worked with the same group that reported in the capital.
No reason for the two absences was given in the report.
Preparations on the ground
The team held a training session at the Essipong Stadium in Takoradi on Wednesday, a day before the first match. Björkegren and his technical team used the session to work through the tactical approach for the two games.
Essipong, one of the country's purpose-built football venues from the 2008 AFCON era, has regularly served as a training and match base for national teams and clubs in the Western Region.
Why it matters
AFCON qualifying is played in groups, and back-to-back fixtures against the same opponent are the standard format in the competition's qualifying rounds. That makes a double-header like this one of the clearest opportunities in a campaign to pick up points, since a team that gets its tactics right in the first game can repeat the approach days later.
For Ghanaians following from the United States and elsewhere abroad, the two kick-off dates to note are Thursday, November 12 and Monday, November 16. Match times were not stated in the report.
The Black Stars remain one of Africa's most decorated sides, with four AFCON titles, and qualification for the 2027 edition is the immediate target of the current campaign under Björkegren.
NewsPulse GH will carry the results of both fixtures as they come in.