Black Stars to camp in Rustenburg for Nations Cup

Published on: 24 October 2011

Ghana are to prepare for the African Nations Cup finals with a high altitude training camp in South Africa. 

The Black Stars, chasing their fifth Nations Cup title, will assemble from 7 January and then travel to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for the tournament.

The team will be based in the town of Rustenburg to give the players the maximum concentration in their pre-tournament preparations.

The squad will head straight to their base for the duration of the camp which is most likely to be held at the newly built multi-million dollar Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus at Rustenburg.

The excellent facilities will also ensure tough preparation as Ghana seeks to win the tournament for the first time since 1982.

“We have already had a look at the facilities and we think it is excellent for good concentration for the players and the team,” a Ghana FA board member told MTNFootball.com.

The Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus base is only eight miles from  Phokeng, nestled upon the world's largest platinum reserves, and is also home to the 300,000-strong Royal Bafokeng Nation.

The campus has seven training pitches as well as a medical centre for Goran Stevanovic's back-room staff to work with.

And captain John Mensah and his team-mates will not get bored in Rustenburg, which is based in South Africa's Highveld, about 1500m above sea level, where there is less oxygen in the air than at sea level.

More than 20,000 Ghanaians live in South Africa and are expected to watch the team if they manage to arrange friendlies with local sides.

Ghana will know their group opponents on Saturday when the draw is held.

The Nations Cup finals start on 21 January.

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