The current playing body of the Black Stars will miss the final farewell of a late colleague, Christian Atsu.
The funeral is scheduled for Friday, March 17 at the Forecourt of the State House.
However, the 25-man squad announced for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] qualifiers against Angola will miss the final funeral rites.
The players will arrive in the country after the burial of Atsu in his hometown, Dogobome.
Andre Ayew, Thomas Partey, Jordan Ayew, and Daniel Amartey among others will miss an opportunity to pay their last respects to their former playing mate.
Meanwhile, the country’s football governing body says they did not factor in the Black Stars gama Atsu’s funeral arrangement because the players are expected in town from March 19 after their club engagements but they are working with Atsu’s family and the government to ensure they paid the best of tributes to the late footballer.
“We are in constant communication with the family of Atsu and the government in the preparation for the funeral to ensure we send him off in a befitting way,” Henry Asante Twum told Graphic Sports.
“There has not been any inclusion of the Stars because they will be arriving in the country after the funeral on Friday,” he added.
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Atsu was confirmed dead on Saturday, February 18, 2023, after his lifeless body was pulled out of the rubble in the wake of the earthquake in Turkey.
This followed days of intense search following the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in mid-February.
Tributes have poured in from far and near, with many expressing their condolences to the footballer’s family and loved ones.
He is famously remembered for winning the best player at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] in Equatorial Guinea.
Atsu was a member of the Black Stars squad that featured at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
