体坛英语新闻：Ghana's U-17 team to fine-tune in Egypt ahead of African championship

ACCRA, Mar. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ghana's junior national soccer team, the Black Starlets, will firm up preparations in Egypt and some European countries for the 2013 African U-17 championship fixed for April 13-27 in Morocco, minister for Finance Seth Tekper announced here on Tuesday.

The local Black Stars team will also engage in qualifying matches and pre-tournament preparations in Kenya ahead of the 2014 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament in South Africa, he said, while reading this year's budget statement in parliament.

The Black Starlets are in Group B of the African competition alongside West African neighbors Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire and Congo.

Ghana last qualified for the U-17 championship five years ago and is therefore preparing feverishly to annex this year's trophy.

The junior team will be based in Marrakesh during the tournament while Group A matches will be played in Casablanca.

The semi finalists will represent Africa at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next October.

The CHAN competition was designed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for only home-based players in the domestic leagues of its member countries.

The maiden edition of the championship was won by the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo who beat Ghana 2-0 in the finals in March 2011 to lift the trophy.

The Local Black Stars must beat Benin in the qualifiers in June to book a place to the third edition of the tournament.

Terkper also said the second edition of the Sports Festival dubbed National Unity Games would be organized to deepen unity and peaceful co-existence within the country and to unearth new talents for various sporting disciplines to be groomed for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Tekper also said the ministry of Youth and Sports, in partnership with corporate Ghana, would improve community and institutional sports infrastructure by further developing multi- purpose courts in selected districts and educational institutions across the country.

"Work on the construction of the Cape Coast Sports Stadium ( which has been contracted to a Chinese firm) will begin while the stadium for the University of Health and Allied Sciences at Ho will be pursued," he said.

He said despite its inability to win the high-status 2013 African Cup of Nations tournament in South Africa, the government would continue to support the senior national male soccer team, the Black Stars, to participate in the qualifiers for the FIFA World cup in Brazil next year.

He said the National Youth Authority (NYA) would undertake rehabilitation works at the Accra and the Kumasi Sports Stadia to forestall further deterioration of the facilities.