<<Print>>

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah says winning next year�s African Cup of Nations title will be the perfect tribute to deceased ex-president John Mills. Coach Appiah and a host football administrators and fans are paying their last respect to the Ghanaian leader who has been laid in state at the Banquaet Hall in Accra. He died on July 24 after battling illness for months. The late John Mills was a staunch football man through and through and served on various committees at the Ghana Football Association including serving as the Black Stars management committee chairman. The Black Stars trainer believes winning next year�s African crown will be the perfect tribute to the man who earned the accolade as the �Humble Giant� and �Father for All�. �It is solemn moment for all of us and I believe the perfect tribute to his memory is to try and qualify for the world cup and do our best to win the Nations Cup next year. But of course we have to try and qualify first,� Appiah said. �The few times I had the opportunity of meeting him as a coach, he gave me a lot of wise counsel.� �I believe he will very happy to see us lift the cup and that�s what I believe the players will be saying to themselves.� �We have lost a great man who impacted the lives of many Ghanaians and so we should celebrate him.� Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi prematurely ended his work with FIFA at the Olympic Games in London to attend the funeral of the 68-year-old. The Black Stars must first negotiate a two-legged tie against lowly-ranked Malawi in September and October.