Former Ghana youth international, Najeeb Yakubu, has alleged that Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku was behind his exclusion from the Black Meteors squad that travelled to Japan for friendlies in 2021.

Najeeb, who now plays for the Niger national team, was part of the squad that secured a 2-1 win against the Black Stars at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday, November 18, 2024.

Speaking on Prime Take with Muftawu Nabila Abdulai on JoyNews, he accused Kurt Okraku of removing his passport from the squad list for the Japan friendlies.

“I think it’s the GFA President, Kurt [Okraku], who took out my name from the U23 squad that travelled to Japan in 2021 for the friendlies. I think he has a personal problem with me,” he said.

“When I was in the U17, he [Kurt Okraku] wanted me to join his team, Dreams FC. Unfortunately, I couldn’t join his team [and he took it personally].”

However, officials of Dreams FC have denied ever trying to sign Najeeb when he was with the Black Starlets.

Responding to the allegations, an official told JoySports that at no point did the FA president, who was Executive Chairman of the club, or any other official of Dreams FC contact Najeeb or his representatives to play for the club.

He, however, said the only time an official spoke to him was when he was in Ukraine and the conversation had nothing to do about playing for Dreams. According to him, the said official said he was going to recommend to the GFA president so that the technical team could consider calling him to the Black Stars at the time the national team struggled for a right back.

Najeed eventually switched to Niger, and played against the Black Stars in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.

The Black Stars finished last in Group F with only three points, marking the first time in 21 years that the team will miss the continental showpiece.

Meanwhile, Najeeb’s Niger finished third with seven points, while Angola and Sudan secured first and second places with 14 and eight points, respectively.