UK-based football agent Ambrose Mendy claims it took him 14 months to persuade the England FA to agree to play Ghana in a friendly. Mendy, a former scout for Manchester United, has been on the deal since 2009 but the FA had little trust in African national teams. “The Three Lions have played with just two African countries since 2005 and it wasn’t so easy convincing them to play Ghana,” Mendy told GBC Radio in Sunyani. There’s no denying the fact that there is high reputation for Ghanaians in UK and especially the likes of Michael Essien, John Mensah, Sulley Muntari and just recently Gyan but still the FA didn’t want to enter any negotiations. I think these players were a factor that the FA took into consideration” he added. Mendy also heaped praises on Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi for his support and patience during the contract talks. “Nyantakyi has been very helpful and I must thank him very much because of his optimism during the contract talks. He’s somebody who knows football very much and people here respect him.” England play Ghana, World Cup quarter-finalists, on 29 March at the new Wembley and already the 20,000 tickets allocated to Ghana have been taken up by fans of the Black Stars. Source: Ghanasoccernet.com