Salifu Ibrahim is a former player of Hearts of Oak
Former Hearts of Oak midfielder, Salifu Ibrahim, has shed light on the circumstances that prevented him and Afriyie Barnieh from joining the national U-23 team in 2021, revealing that the decision came directly from the club’s top hierarchy as Hearts pushed for a historic league title.
In an interview with Fakye TV, Salifu recounted how both he and Barnieh were withdrawn from a national team call-up despite being named in the squad for friendly matches against Japan under then-coach Paa Kwasi Fabin.
“They called three of us, including Richmond Ayi and Barnieh. But Barnieh and I were called by our owner that because of the league we didn’t have to go and we agreed,” Salifu said.
The incident happened in May 2021 during Hearts of Oak’s title-chasing campaign. Salifu had initially been left out of the Ghana Football Association’s announcement, which sparked significant public backlash.
The uproar led to his late inclusion in the U-23 squad, but he never made it to the camp due to the club’s intervention.
At the time, Hearts were in a tight race to end an 11-year Ghana Premier League drought, and the management’s decision to keep key players from international duty ultimately paid off, as the Phobians went on to win the 2020/21 league title.
However, while Barnieh would later earn multiple call-ups to the national team, Salifu never featured again, leading to suggestions that pulling out of the U-23 matches may have hurt his national team prospects. But the midfielder firmly rejected that claim.
“I don’t agree that that’s the cause of me not being called up because I wasn’t the only player that Hearts didn’t allow to leave when I got called up. But after that, Barnieh was called again to the national team, so that can’t be the cause,” he explained.
Despite being one of the most consistent midfielders in the Ghana Premier League at the time, earning league MVP honours and helping Hearts to multiple trophies, he never earned a senior national team appearance.
He has since moved on from Hearts, signing a two-year deal with FC Drita in Kosovo, where he featured 24 times in the 2024/25 Superliga e Kosovës season, scoring once and assisting once.
He also played in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers and the Kosovar League Cup.
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