The football association chief reflects on the 19-year-old's maiden invitation for national duty
Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kurt Okraku has shed light on Greuther Furth attacker Jamie Leweling's Black Stars call-up for the upcoming 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games against Sudan.
The 19-year-old was among the surprising names in coach CK Akonnor's 23-man squad, in part because he currently represents Germany at U20 level.
Although he represented the country of his birth at youth level, he remains eligible to line up for the west Africans at senior level because he is of Ghanaian descent.
"Jamie Leweling was recommended by the technical director [Bernhard Lippert] of the Ghana Football Association," Okraku told Hello FM.
"As a result, CK Akonnor travelled to Germany and watched Jamie [Leweling] two times and some of his videos. And considering all the information that we had, we thought it was imperative to bring him to the team.
"Some of the information were classified but Jamie must come to the team for which reason we gave the coach the green light to bring him.
"He's a 19-year-old, an offensive player and I think per his qualities he holds a good future."
So far this season, Leweling, who has also played for Germany at U18 level, has made six appearances for Furth in the Bundesliga 2.
Last weekend, he saw 16 minutes of action in the club's 4-1 home triumph over Hannover 96.
"He [Leweling] is a young man who is all over the place with lots of teams interested in him because of what he has done,” Akonnor said, as reported by the Ghana Football Association’s official website.
“He is growing very fast. He just got a chance from the [Greuther Furth] second team and now he is with the first team. He’s been a player I believe is a hope for the future.
“He is one of the guys that we can have because he’s young, 19 years of age and he has had the chance to play for the German national team and so we are looking at how we can also get him on board to also help us in the future. He’s somebody I believe if not today, he’s going to be the hope for our future and that’s why he’s here.”
Leweling could make his Ghana debut when they host Sudan in Cape Coast on November 12.