Claim: Crystal Palace Eddie Nketiah says he is open to Black Stars call-up
Source: Media reports
Verdict: Misleading
Researched by Samuel Nii Adjetey
Multiple online news reports have claimed Eddie Nketiah, an England-based striker of Ghanaian descent, has declared his readiness to join Ghana’s senior national team, the Black Stars, if invited.
News platforms, including GBC Ghana, GhanaWeb, GhanaSoccerNet, Pulse Ghana, Modern Ghana, and Pan African Football, published articles indicating that Nketiah was open to switching nationality and playing for Ghana.
The GBC Ghana report had the headline: ‘If Ghana invite me, I’ll be there’ – Eddie Nketiah open to call-up, while GhanaWeb reported: ‘I will join if invited’ – Eddie Nketiah on playing for Black Stars.
Fig 1: Screenshot of GBC’s publication
GhanaSoccerNet published a more pointed headlines such as “Opportunistic” Eddie Nketiah wants ‘Ghana bailout’ after announcing his readiness to play for Black Stars, and Eddie Nketiah opens door to Black Stars switch amid diminishing England prospects.
Fig 2: Screenshot of publication from Ghana Soccernet
The story has reignited social media conversations on the Crystal Palace player’s international future and Ghana’s efforts to secure his services for the Black Stars.
Fact-check
GhanaFact noted that a sports journalist, George Addo Jr. on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, shared a Facebook post citing The Beautiful Game Podcast in which Nketiah said; “When I was younger, representing England was an option after progressing through the youth system. But if Ghana invites me, then I’ll be there.”
This same quote is what has been used in all the recently published news reports.
Fig 3: A screenshot of the Facebook post of George
Further checks by GhanaFact found that the quote used in the media reports were originally from a 2022 interview on The Beautiful Game Podcast and is not a recent comment.
We traced the source of the video to an April 19, 2022, interview on the YouTube channel of The Beautiful Game Podcast in which Eddie Nketiah was asked about his international future, particularly his eligibility to play for Ghana and he responded:
“My parents are both Ghanaians, and I’ve got that heritage. So it’s definitely a possibility. I think I’m open to both—playing for Ghana and England. I’ve played through the youth team when I was younger…. They called me up to play for them, which was great.”
GhanaFact’s search also found that on April 19, 2022, sports journalist George Addo Jr. posted a 1-minute 14-second excerpt of Nketiah’s interview on Facebook. The caption of his post read:
“Thomas Partey be agent one – Eddie Nketiah confirms Black Stars assistant Captain has been speaking to him about choosing Ghana over England.”
The available evidence suggests that the quote circulating in recent news reports was not new but from a three-year-old interview.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is rated Misleading.
