FA PREMIER LEAGUE:PORTSMOUTH HAVE pleaded with the football associations of Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria and Ivory Coast to waive their right to call up six of the club's first-team players for the Africa Cup of Nations two weeks before the competition starts on January 10th.
The Premier League’s bottom club could enter the transfer window without the ability to strengthen a threadbare squad due to the league’s player registration embargo.
This has made it all the more imperative that they can call on Nwankwo Kanu, John Utaka, Aruna Dindane, Hassan Yebda, Nadir Belhadj and Kevin-Prince Boateng – who is waiting for a Ghanaian passport – for an extra week.
That would allow them to play in the league game against Arsenal on December 30th and in the FA Cup against Coventry City on January 2nd.
Fifa rules state that the six players have to join their international teams immediately after the St Stephen’s Day trip to West Ham, if their national associations insist on them being available for the full fortnight before the Africa Cup of Nations starts in Angola.
Although executives at Portsmouth have made their African counterparts aware of their predicament, it is thought they are not optimistic of success.
Whenever Avram Grant loses his African contingent, he believes it is vital that he is able to recruit in January. “We will have a long, long battle to stay in the league,” the manager said. “For this, we need to make the squad a little bit stronger, particularly for when we have the Africa Cup of Nations and six players won’t be here. Having six players leave is too much but it’s a fact – we can do nothing about this. All we can do is think about the solution and we are doing this.”
To make signings, Portsmouth need to pay off outstanding instalments on several transfers deals, which would lead to the Premier League lifting its embargo.
The chief executive, Peter Storrie, is abroad trying to raise the finance required to alleviate a worsening financial situation – around €8.8 million is needed to lift the embargo and further bills include a seven-figure payment to the former owner Sacha Gaydamak by the end of next month.
The club took the unusual step of issuing a statement insisting they are not heading for administration: “The owner and board of Portsmouth Football Club are disappointed at recent inaccurate media speculation regarding the club’s finances and the threat of administration.
“The club is not going into administration. If that were the case it would have happened at the end of September or early October.”
- Guardian Service
