I am currently an Elder in church and sports journalism is my [part-time] profession. I have followed the Black Stars closely – and I mean closely – since 2008 and there is no way our team is not considered a force to reckon with at any tournament. The recent tournaments for the team have been disastrous and many have attributed several reasons to the woeful showings. I. Find. It. Spiritual. The earlier the managers of the team seek spiritual deliverance, the better. I will use the three recent major tournaments – 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the ongoing 2023 AFCON – as my case studies. How can you fathom a team that won three Man of the Match awards, even in the 1-2 loss to Cape Verde, to bow out of a tournament at the group stage? Why will a professional player in the penalty area spread his arms wide to concede a penalty by that and why will a goalkeeper touch a ball which was going out for a goal kick?
Let me go back a little. It became an international ignominy after the AFCON in 2012, when it came out that the Black Stars were indulged in voodoo in camp against one another. Ghana lost the semi-final to eventual winners Zambia in a match a penalty was missed by Captain Asamoah Gyan in the first half. Unbelievable! The striker had missed a penalty at the World Cup two years earlier and had said his late mum had advised him not to take penalties again. He stepped out for this one and his kick was saved by the Chipolopolo’s Kennedy Mwene. He was substituted later on and his demeanour on the bench when the cameras captured him was one the would shout ‘Incredible! What are Ghanaians thinking of men now?’ The juju allegations were all over and though some denied the reports – aired on BBC – many of them admitted it. Even jersey numbers were cast under spell if a different player were to wear them. This juju matter was aptly captured in the report of then Serbian coach Goran ‘Plavi’ Stevanovic.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where I was to cheer the team on, everything was set for Ghana to qualify to the Round of 16. Yes, we lost our first game to Portugal in a match I felt we could have drawn, but recovered strongly to beat South Korea 3-2. After the game, I was strolling the streets of Doha where I met a South Korean, a goalkeeper, Choi, who told me the Ghanaians were too strong for them and they knew we would qualify ahead of them. On the day of our final match against Uruguay at the iconic Al-Janoub Stadium, I interviewed a number of supporters from different nationalities including Uruguayans and most of them said they were there to witness the revenge of South Africa 2010. Everything began well for the Black Stars until that penalty miss. VAR gave us that crucial penalty in the first half but Captain Andre Ayew missed it. It was not his fault. Maybe, just maybe, it was spiritual. Ghana lost 0-2 to Luiz Suarez’s side.
I have not seen commitment and hunger to win something for Ghana as I saw written on the faces of the players at the 2023 AFCON. You may disagree with me but the posture of bench warmers Jojo Wollacott, Alidu Seidu, and a few of them in the dying minutes of the Cape Verde game told me how the players wanted to win for Ghana contrary to accusations that they are not committed. Even the captain, Andre Ayew, sacrificed his personal records for a collective win for the team. He could have stepped up for the second penalty in the Mozambique game but he left it for his brother. Unfortunately, all came to naught. Ghana earlier succumbed to an error in injury time to give the Blue Sharks their win. Now, we get to the second match! It was gainst record winners Egypt. And if anyone thinks of the Pharaohs as a depleted side, wait till you see where they will get to in this tournament. Even, Cape Verde are not a side any of the top teams can walk over. Wait and see them beat your so-called big sides in this tournament. Ghana was too strong for them until that defensive lapse. Back to the Egypt game, a wrongful back pass and a striker taking the ball to his own final third is something no rational sports fanatic can fathom. Could it not be spiritual? And the most surprising is the third game against Mozambique. We lead 2-0 and with one minute to close proceedings and given the high stakes and how vital a win was for the side, we fluffed it and drew 2-2. Unbelievable!
In Cameroon in 2022, Ghana were not an easy nut to crack for teams. Perhaps many have forgotten but Morocco struggled to beat the Black Stars in that very first game. It took another defensive lapse for Soufiane Boufal to score against Wollacott. In the second match against Gabon, the Black Stars were on their way to victory when the ‘spiritual’ specter reared its head again. We drew 1-1 after a powerful 20-yard strike from Andre Ayew. The final game against Comoros Islands was going to be an easy does-it for the side given the pedigree between Ghana and the Island nation. But what happened? Captain Andre Ayew – who had vowed a win in that match – was red-carded just a few minutes into the game after a VAR call. Ghana played the rest of the game with 10 men and even that was a mouthful for the debutants. But whatever it was, they qualified at our expense. In my estimation, the team played well in that match given their numerical disadvantage.
It is sad things are not working for team as expected. For me, it is more spiritual than any other. Yes, management of the team has taken a nosedive since that ignominious sharing of cash at the 2014 World Cup. The team lost the nation’s moral and spiritual support after that global embarrassment. No wonder, we failed to make it the next World Cup in Russia. Though we seem to have bounced back, getting a man of God to deliver the team is as important as getting a psychologist for the team. I rest my case.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh
The writer is a part-time sports journalist, currently the Senior Sports Producer for Onua FM/TV.
