With the gold plated FIFA World Cup trophy due in Ghana on November 25-26 who better is there to be the Ambassador of the trophy tour in Ghana than our own Kelvin Prince Boateng?

The Schalke mid-fielder wants to be at the World Cup and yet does not want to play the matches that qualify Ghana to the mundial.

Against Zambia in Ghana, Boateng in a symbolic gesture, hoisted the Ghana flag round the Baba Yara Stadium and sat out the 2-1 crucial victory which qualified Ghana into the play-offs against Egypt.

He was deemed to be injured and was captured a couple of times by the cameras seated at the reserve bench, wearing an anxious face, clutching his teeth  anytime Ghana missed an opportunity to score. It was such a fine Hollywood performance on the bench telling a story about how desperate KP wanted to help Ghana win but injury won’t allow him. That game was played on Friday September 6.

The next week end, September 14, KP was back in Schalke and started in the game against Mainz 05; a game Schalke won by a lone goal. Guess who was the lone goal hero? In a matter of days, the injury that kept Boateng out of action in the crucial world cup qualifier between Ghana and Zambia had miraculously healed. He was in top form in Germany.

Few weeks later Ghana was paired against Egypt in the crucial first leg World Cup play-off. Ghana needed all its Stars to ensure that we tamed the Pharoahs here in Ghana and make the return leg a mere formality.

The week-end before that game another hugely pretentious injury befell KP.  He was taken out of the Bundusliga game which effectively ruled him out of the Black Stars game against Egypt. The Ghana FA demanded an injury report from the player and the club. I am informed, though not officially, that he presented the FA with the report.

Just a week after Ghana walloped Egypt 6-1 here in Ghana, KP was back on the field again playing the Bundusliga game and then the Champions league for Schalke. His injury had miraculously healed again.

It appears our darling boy only gets injured when Ghana is playing but heals fast when Schalke is playing. The status quo should remain when Ghana qualifies to Brazil.

Even before that, in November, KP may as well carry the FIFA trophy around town like he did with the Ghana flag and sit out when the team finally gets to Brazil. Won't that be a great service to mother Ghana?

Don’t get me wrong here. In principle, I rarely publicly criticise our footballers. I sympathise with them because I know what they go through. And in many cases, critics have been inconsiderate and highly hypocritical in their condemnation of the players.

On the basis of this, i quietly followed the whole controversy about KP's departure and return to the Black Stars and the tomfoolery that came with it soon after we returned from  the South African World Cup.

Even though the circumstances that surrounded the temporary retirement of Asamoah Gyan, Michael Essien and the Ayews from the Black Stars were markedly different from that of Kevin, a case was made for his return. Like it was for the others and I had no problem with that. But the latest injury facades are too ridiculous to ignore. The man only wants to be at the World Cup and nothing more.

And the worrying aspect of this whole drama is the failure by the FA to put its foot down and settle the matter once and for all.

What the FA president has done is to buy into the ridiculous explanations by the player.

The only case for KP is a quote by Ghana’s coach Kwasi Appiah- That if Ghana wants to make an impact at the World Cup she would have to take her best players to the World Cup.”

But what Akwasi Appiah failed to add was that we need our best  COMMITTED players at the World Cup not the ones who would feign injury during qualification to the World Cup.

I have also heard the arguement that Ghana needs to make an impact at the World Cup. I agree with that but i am convinced Ghana can make an impact with or without KP. For God sake we left an over-committed Laryea Kingston from the Germany 2006 World Cup when he was in top form and the ridiculous explannation was that he had a three match ban on his head and Ghana couldn't make it past the group stage.

KP is not a Messi, a Ronaldo or Neymar. He is dispensable. The better we stop being slaves to his bloated reputation the better. This is a player who has six, some say nine, surgeries on his knees. He has every right as a player to want to protect his career but he cannot take the whole take Ghanaians for fools.

We don't any favours from KP at the World Cup.

Part two will follow tomorrow and it will delve into the mysterious technical director controversy.