The 2020 CHAN Tournament to be hosted in Cameroon will be without the Black Stars B of Ghana following their 0-0 encounter with Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou on Sunday evening.
The Local Stallions of Burkina Faso picked a ticket for the tournament after winning the first leg by 1-0 in Kumasi barely a month ago.
This will be the second time the Burkinabes have stopped Ghana from qualifying for the tournament after inflinching a painful 2-1 defeat on the Black Stars B in Kumasi in 2017.
Ghana had secured an encouraging 2-2 draw in the first left in Ouagadougou in 2017 and had expected the second leg to be a mere formality but the Burkinabes trekked to the Baba Yara Sports Stadium to grab a 2-1 win to stop Ghana from participating in the event in Morocco last year.
And today, has been the second time Ghana have been stopped by the same side that denied them qualification in 2017.
The defeat will mean the Black Stars B will be missing in action for the third time when the roll call for the tournament is called next year in Cameroon.
Following a wonderful performance in 2013 which saw Maxwell Konadu guiding his side to the finals of the tournament in South Africa, the West Africans have been struggling to appear at the tournament again.
In 2015, the Black Stars B were stopped by Ivory Coast after losing by a lone goal in Abidjan following a 2-1 first leg advantage.
Ghana had won 2-1 in Kumasi over the Ivorians and were highly optimistic that they will qualify for the tournament by a first half strike by the Local Elephants saw Ghana failing to qualify for the 2016 edition in Rwanda.
After that episode in Ivory Coast, the Black Stars B have fallen behind Burkina Faso twice – in 2017 and 2019 – making it the third time in succession that Ghana will not be at the event.
Despite being one of the best coaches in Ghana, it remains strange why Maxwell Konadu has failed on three occasions to qualify for the CHAN Tournament.
The gaffer was recently voted the ESPN Best Coach of the 2019 WAFU Cup played in Senegal after guiding Ghana to win Silver at the tournament.
He also guided Ghana to lift the WAFU Cup in 2013 and 2017 but the CHAN continuous to be a huge test for the brilliant manager.
Ghana will have to sit back and re-strategise for the 2022 edition of the tournament.
