Ghana’s twinkle-twinkle little stars, Black Starlets, will launch a bold attempt at grabbing the golden fleece for keeps when the 7th edition of the African Under-17 Nations Cup roars off in neighbouring Togo, this weekend.

The Starlets, winners of the inaugural edition in Mali ‘95, a feat repeated four years later in Guinea, are brimming with confidence after a spectacular training tour in Egypt.

Indeed, reports say they were stunning in the land of the Pharaoh, exhibiting a kind of football that did not only ooze pretty patterns on the pitch, but produced goals as well.

That the young Ghanaians thrashed the Under-21 side of Africa’s most revered club side, Al-Ahly, 3-1 in one of their trials games, should ring a pleasant bell in the ears of avid followers of the sport.

Experts of the Ghanaian game assert that the present performance of the glittering Starlets cuts semblance with the Ecuador’ 95 World Cup winning squad who were endowed with skill, flair, physique, technique and versatility.

On their way to the Togo championship, the Starlets flushed out a rugged Ivorian side on the away goal rule after the two sides had tied 3-3 over two legs. Before, the two-time world champions had dispatched Guinea 4-2 on aggregate.

Chief trainer of the Starlets, Osam Duodu, has been highly impressed by his team’s output, predicting a magnificent showing in the Lome championship.

Heartily, the young Ghanaian team is gifted with fantastic talents in the name of top marksman Nathaniel Asamoah, Randsford Osei, Saddick Adams, Daniel Opare and U.K. – based Kelvin Owusu Bossman who can rough-tumble any stiffest backline.

Grouped alongside arch rival Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Eritrea, the Starlets can afford to underestimate the strength of their opponents at their own peril.

The top three teams after the two-week celebration of juvenile football festival qualify for the World Championship in North Korea which would be staged between August 18 – September 9, 2007.

Winning gold in Togo would put the icing on the cake of a country celebrating 50 years of independence from British colonial rule.

The Starlets must dash for it. Ghanaians cannot wait to relish that historic moment.

Times