ACCRA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Ghana's senior national men's soccer team Black Stars defeated local premier league side Asante Kotoko by 3-0 in a friendly played at the Baba Yara sports stadium in Kumasi on Friday.

Majeed Waris fetched the opener in the first half before substitute Emmanuel Boateng and Christian Atsu scored in the 47th and 55th minute respectively to give the national side a comfortable victory.

The head coach of the Black Stars Kwesi Appiah used the game to assess some of his players ahead of the next qualification encounter.

The friendly was hurriedly arranged after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) cancelled Ghana's 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Sierra Leone following a dispute between the government of Sierra Leone and the country's football association.

It follows the failure of the government of Sierra Leone to meet FIFA's Oct. 9 deadline reinstate the nation's FA boss Isha Johansen and her general secretary Chris Kamara.

According to CAF, Sierra Leone will not be allowed to participate in qualifiers unless a confirmation that the conditions stipulated in the Bureau of FIFA Council's letter has been fulfilled.

After the third round of matches, the Harambee Stars of Kenya, lead Group F with four points, same as Ethiopia who will play Ghana at Addis Ababa stadium on Nov. 18, 2018 in the next round of the qualifiers of the 2019 AFCON to be hosted by Cameroon in June-July.