Sweden FA have moved to prevent talented youngster Kingsley Sarfo from playing for Ghana by asking the country’s immigration authorities to hand the midfielder Swedish citizenship,according to GHANAsoccernet.com.
The move by the Swedish FA (SvFF) comes just four days after Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah handed the highly-talented Sirius attacking midfielder his maiden Black Stars call-up.
The midfielder, who plays in the attacking midfield of left-wing position, was part of the 30-man Ghana squad called for the matches against Ethiopia, Mexico and USA.
Sarfo, who has been spotted by the new Ghana coach, has been one of the great sensations in Allsvenskan – the Swedish top-flight – this season for his club Sirius.
The midfielder has scored three goals and four assists in their ten matches so far this season and has already attracted interest from several clubs in France and Germany.
Local giants Malmo FF and Russian club Krasnodar have also expressed interest in the star player whose dribbling skills, supreme use of his left foot, pace and scoring ability has raised eyebrows among many clubs in the top leagues of Europe.
Following Ghana’s decision to hand a call-up to Sarfo, Sweden U21 coach Hakan Ericson has asked the federation to urgently make the Ghanaian player available for his side for the summer’s European Under-21 Championship in Poland.
The SvFF have been in contact with the Swedish Migration Board over Swedish citizenship for Ghanaian and have asked the authorities to fast-track an application for Sarfo.
“That’s right. We have been in contact with the Immigration Service and tried to speed up the case of a Swedish citizenship for Kingsley Sarfo. Our legal department has also been involved,” Ericson said in Sweden on Monday. “We have been in contact with the Immigration Service and tried to speed up the application but it does not look so positive because of the current system.”
Sarfo was born in Ghana to Ghanaians parents and moved to Sweden just three years ago after playing for the Ghanaian side Golden Booth Academy.
His contract with Sirius expires in the summer of 2018, but everything indicates that there will be a move this summer as he is chased by several clubs outside Sweden.
Sarfo has not played for any country at the international and since he has not yet acquired Swedish citizenship he can only play international football for Ghana.
Playing for the Black Stars in next month’s match against Ethiopia in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier will permanently tie him to Ghana.
Source: Joy Sports
