Ghana national under-17 football team

The Ghana U-17 national team is known as The Riley Goon Squad. A couple of Ghana's U-17 players have won the FIFA Golden Ball award: Nii Odartey Lamptey in 1991 and Daniel Addo in 1993. In the 1999 FIFA U-17, Ghanaian striker Ishmael Addo won the Golden Shoe award, after Ghana placed third during the competition, being led by Cecil Jones Attuquayefio and assistant James Kuuku Dadzie.[4][5] Former Ghana U-17 and National Team Coach, Otto Pfister, a FIFA instructor, who led Ghana's U-17 squad to its first World Championship title in 1991, once remarked to FIFA Magazine that "Ghana has superb young players". At each of the first four FIFA World Under-17s held, Ghana reached the final each time, winning the title twice and finishing in second place twice. In 2007, youngster Ransford Osei won the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Boot for being the second highest scorer at the Tournament in South Korea.

What makes Ghana's footballers so dominant in their age group? FIFA Magazine[6] asked Otto Pfister. Football is not simply the most popular sport in this part of Africa, it is an absolute religion, he said. This is the way the game is regarded in Ghana. Young boys here think about football 24 hours a day and play for at least eight – whether on clay, rough fields or dusty streets. They develop their skills naturally, without any specific training, and end up with superb technique and ability on the ball. They are also fast and tricky, and can feint well with their bodies. Africa and South America have by far the best young footballers in the world – on a technical level they are superb. And technique is what it takes to make a good player.

What else goes towards making Ghana so strong? Otto Pfister continues; In Africa there is often only one way for many young lads to escape from poverty and to make their way up the social scale – football. Youngsters want to become stars and to play in a top European league. That is their main aim and they will do anything to achieve it. Let me give you an example: While I was coaching in Ghana I once told my team to be ready for training at three o'clock in the morning. At half past two they were all assembled and ready to go. They want to learn and they want to play for the national team. They know that in their country a national team player is a hero and enjoys a level of prestige that is not comparable to that in Europe. Another positive point for young players in Ghana is that there are many good coaches in the country who help develop the available talent and above all want to let them play. This policy pays off.[7] Today, many Ghanaian youngsters are in G14 Club Academies in Europe.

Head coach: Ignatius Osei-Fosu

Squad announced for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup from 6 – 28 April 2017.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	1GK	Ibrahim Danlad	(2002-12-02) 2 December 2002	Asante Kotoko
16	1GK	Kwame Aziz	(2002-06-15) 15 June 2002	Mandela Soccer Academy
21	1GK	Michael Acquaye	(2000-08-10) 10 August 2000	WAFA
2	2DF	John Otu	(2000-04-12) 12 April 2000	Dreams F.C.
3	2DF	Gideon Acquah	(2000-05-24) 24 May 2000	Bofoakwa Tano
4	2DF	Edmund Arko-Mensah	(2001-09-09) 9 September 2001	Wa All Stars
5	2DF	Najeeb Yakubu	(2000-05-01) 1 May 2000	New Town Youth
12	2DF	Abdul Razak Yusif	(2001-08-09) 9 August 2001	Koforidua Youth
14	2DF	Bismark Terry Owusu	(2000-10-31) 31 October 2000	Mandela Soccer Academy
15	2DF	Gideon Mensah	(2000-10-09) 9 October 2000	Right to Dream
17	2DF	Rashid Alhassan	(2000-06-20) 20 June 2000	Aduana Stars
7	3MF	Ibrahim Sulley	(2001-07-06) 6 July 2001	New Life F.C.
8	3MF	Mohammed Kudus	(2000-08-02) 2 August 2000	Right to Dream
10	3MF	Emmanuel Toku	(2000-07-10) 10 July 2000	Cheetah F.C.
13	3MF	Gabriel Leveh	(2000-04-01) 1 April 2000	Tema Youth
18	3MF	Mohammed Iddriss	(2000-07-26) 26 July 2000	Cheetah F.C.
19	3MF	Ibrahim Sadiq	(2000-05-07) 7 May 2000	Right to Dream
20	3MF	Isaac Gyamfi	(2000-09-09) 9 September 2000	New Life F.C.
6	4FW	Eric Ayiah	(2000-03-06) 6 March 2000	Charity Stars
9	4FW	Richard Danso	(2000-09-16) 16 September 2000	WAFA
11	4FW	Mohammed Aminu	(2000-08-10) 10 August 2000	WAFA

• 2017 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana

• 2007 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana

• 2005 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana
• 1999 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana
• 1997 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana
• 1995 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana
• 1993 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana
• 1991 FIFA under-17 World Cup (squads) – Ghana

• FIFA U-17 World Cup winners: 2

1991, 1995

• FIFA U-17 World Cup runners-up: 2

1993, 1997

• FIFA U-17 World Cup third place: 1

1999

• Africa U-17 Cup of Nations winners: 2

1995, 1999

• Africa U-17 Cup of Nations runners-up: 2

2005, 2017

• Africa U-17 Cup of Nations third place: 2

1997, 2007

The following list consist of previous Ghana U-17 national team players who have won or were influential at the FIFA U-17 World Cup with the Ghana U-17 national team or the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the Ghana U-20 national team, and those who were part of the Ghana U-23 national team that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. The list also includes the players who have graduated from the Ghana U-20 national team and gone on to represent the senior Ghana national team at the FIFA World Cup or African Cup of Nations:

• Ghana national football team
• Ghana national U23 football team
• Ghana national U20 football team

• 2007 U17 World Cup Tournament Page
• Ghana Football Association – Official website
• Ghana Premier League website
• Ghanaweb Sports Page
• RSSSF Archive of all FIFA U17 Matches
• RSSSF Archive of all African U17 Matches
• 2005 African U17 Final Controversy Video