Features
AFCON 2021: Ghana’s shocking exit!
Just before the start of AFCON 2021 in Cameroon, many Ghanaians were hopeful that the Black Stars would live up to expectation and surprise the world by winning the cup for the fifth time even though the players were not the most experienced and the best compared with others we have had over the years.
It came out as a shock to many if not all Ghanaians that the Black Stars had to be booted out after only the group stages, having lost to Morocco, drawn with Gabon and humbled by the new sensation island, Comoros. This year’s competition was the most disgraceful for Ghana, especially when Comoros Island defeated the Black Stars and moved on to the next stage of the competition.
The whole world sees Ghana as a great football nation that has always put up splendid performance to win competitive laurels. Failure to win the AFCON 2021 Cup is not really the issue that worries Ghanaians even though the nation would have been happy if the cup had been won. What is very disturbing to Ghanaians is the fact that the Ghana Football Association appears not to be exercising efficient management of football in this country. Many of its members have neglected to play the role of efficient management of tapping and managing football talents at various levels from first, second and third divisions to the Ghana Premier League level as well as the national team level where talented players could be identified and brought together to constitute the best national team to win competitions on the continent and in the world as a whole.
UNFORTUNATE SITUATION
Unfortunately, this has not been the case and many Ghanaians have become disappointed and even lost interest in the ongoing AFCON 2021. This is a very sad situation, indeed.
The truth of the matter is that the game of football is no longer the monopoly of a few countries. Rather, the whole world, through well endowed and less endowed countries, are seriously learning and doing all they can about football, so as to be able to go higher and higher to win laurels.
Gone were the days when countries like Morocco, Ghana, Egypt and a few others were considered masters of the game. Today, less known countries in the area of football have exploited the area and pulled up surprises in competitive football whether at the continental or global level.
SKILLS BY LESS KNOWN COUNTRIES
This explains why Comoros Islands, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea and others have surprised the world with the skills they are displaying in the ongoing AFCON 2021.
There are many things that are wrong with football organisation in Ghana. First of all, the commitment of the GFA is in great doubt and their coach recruitment policy for the national team has not proved to be the best. Coaches are brought in for the national team as and when a few people in the GFA think that particular people ought to be selected to train the Black Stars.
It is becoming clear that this policy will have to be changed. We need to train some of our own nationals to make sure that their Ghanaian identity and pride is always exhibited during football matches at all levels.
GHANAIAN COACHES
In fact, the previous achievements of the Black Stars and the junior national teams came about from coaches who were Ghanaians and committed to the task. In 1982, when the Black Stars won the Africa Cup of Nations for the fourth time, they did not use any foreigner to win the cup.
What is important, therefore, is for Ghana as a nation to develop football pitches all over the country to create opportunities for the young ones to train in the game of football. The current policy of the Ministry of Sports to build facilities in various districts and regions will soon begin to yield good results for the country, so that policy must be implemented.
Apart from the availability of football pitches for training, Ghana needs to also identify younger people throughout the country for competitive football at the various levels. This should not be limited only to men but the females as well.
NUMEROUS FOOTBALL TALENTS
Many people have argued that from what they see in the rural areas, the country abounds in football talents in all the villages and towns throughout. The Ghana Football Association must, therefore, embrace the task of hunting football talents in all parts of the country and grooming them into efficient working force for our Premier League as well as the national teams.
We should not just be happy with what was done yesterday or depend on the past glory of the nation, but strive to attain better things for the good of our motherland. If things are organised better in this way, the nation will soon make use of football stars from both male and female teams and export them to clubs outside to bring in the needed revenue to the country. When talented football stars are facilitated to join foreign clubs, the money they earn would be brought into the country to assist families and friends and thereby help in the promotion of socioeconomic development. At the same time, it will also help to raise the standard of football in all parts of the country.
Since football is the passion of the nation, we need to begin now to reorganise things in a better way to bring in more fruitful results for the overall good of Ghana and its citizens. This can be done so we must encourage the growth of football in all dimensions, so as to make use of talented individuals in that field to create wealth for the country.
PERSONAL TEAMS
It is good to have personal teams owned by members of the GFA. However, if these football teams are owned and used only to serve personal economic interests, then the issue of selfishness comes in.
This is why we must pay attention to the national good and ensure that whatever is done in the area of football goes to serve our national interest. Let all the football administrators go by this principle and more trophies can be won for the country whether at the Africa continental or FIFA level.
Contact email/whatsApp of author:
pradmat2013@gmail.com(0553318911)
By Dr Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
On Sunday, October 11, 2026, it was the turn of Ghanaian Catholics in Finland to lead the singing in the church service of the African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland (ACCF).
It was indeed a spirit-filled feeling for worshippers present. And for the Ghanaian migrants, the occasion also brought back to them memories of church services in their home country, Ghana.
The ACCF has a roster for each country/community to sing from time to time. Next Sunday will be the turn of the Nigerian community. Other communities that usually sing are the Kenyan/Tanzanian community, the Cameroonian, the Ugandan, group, etc.
A powerful religious experience
The mass services of the Chaplaincy usually give a powerful religious experience and a display of cultural diversity, especially in occasions such as when the Bishop of Helsinki, Bishop Raimo Goyarrola, celebrated mass with the Chaplaincy on Pentecost Day, May 24, 2026.
There was a similar time of spiritual joy last month (September 27, 2026) when Emeritus Bishop Teemu Sippo, former Bishop of Helsinki, visited the Chaplaincy. Bishop Teemu was the main celebrant, assisted by the Chaplain, Reverend Father Thomas Otieno.
Last Sunday, Reverend Father Bernard Sor, a Ghanaian Catholic priest based in Austria, was the main celebrant in the mass service where he performed a rite of baptism. Fr Bernard had celebrated mass a few months ago when he visited his sister and her husband in Helsinki. 
All these well-attended religious occasions indeed leave lasting memories. The homilies (peaching) by the priests usually emphasize religious tenets such as the importance of loving and serving God in truth, existing in peace with our fellow humans to promote unity in diversity, etc.
Unity in diversity and a colourful display of cultures
The African Chaplaincy church services usually produce impressive displays of diverse cultures from different parts of Africa and elsewhere. The events are often spiced by rich cultural displays of dances and colourful attires which are a delight to watch.
On special occasions, members of the Ghanaian Catholic community, in their gay and colourful kente attire and with adowa dance and music, usually lead the procession into the church. Other communities such as the Cameroonian, Nigerian, Kenyan and Tanzanian as well as Sudanese/South Sudanese groups also put up well-choreographed performances from their cultures.
The African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland
The African Chaplaincy was founded on June 4, 2017, which was a Pentecost Sunday, in a Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Monsignor Emeritus Sippo S.C.I., the then Bishop of Helsinki, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Parish Church in Helsinki.
The Chaplaincy was created by Bishop Teemu in collaboration with the Diocesan body when they detected a great flocking of African immigrants to Finland, the majority of whom were Catholics. This was to give the immigrants a possibility to integrate into the Finnish society by worshiping as Catholics and in their African cultural identity.
The responsibility of the Chaplaincy was given by Bishop Teemu to Father Dr Leonard Wobilla Shwei, who is thus the first Chaplain and ably led the Chaplaincy. He was succeeded a few years ago by Father Thomas Otieno, who continues to move the Chaplaincy forward. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
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She did not find out he was cheating. She found out he was drowning.
It was two weeks after their beautiful wedding. The jollof was still in the fridge. A loan officer called her number-not his-and politely asked, “Madam, please tell your husband to pay his overdue loan. We have been calling him.”
That was how she discovered her new husband had entered their marriage with a hidden debt of over GH¢ 40,000. No cheating. No other woman. Just a financial secret.
And that is how many Ghanaian marriages begin to die. Not with a shout, but with a secret alert on a phone.
We prepare for the wedding. We do not prepare for the wallet.
What is money honesty?
Let me define it simply. Money honesty is not that you both earn the same. It is that you both know the same. It is the ability to sit down and say without fear:
“This is how much I earn.”
“This is how much I owe.”
“This is how I was raised to see money.”
“This is what scares me about money.”
Financial transparency is not about control. It is about clarity. You cannot build trust on top of secrets.
Many couples tell me, “Counsellor, we love each other, love will handle money.” I always answer, “Love is the car, but money honesty is the fuel. Love without honesty cannot move.”
How To Buy Your Marriage Insurance Today – My 5-Step Protocol
If you are engaged, newly married, or even 20 years in marriage, you can still fix this. At Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult—CPAC, this is what I give couples:
Step 1: The 90-Minute Money Naked Session.
No phones, no blame. Each partner writes down on paper: Monthly income, monthly debts, monthly family obligations, savings, and your biggest money fear. Then you exchange papers. Read it. Don’t react for 24 hours. Just absorb.
Step 2: Create OUR Money, YOUR Money, My Money.
You need three pots. OUR money for rent, food, school fees, utilities, properties, and the like— joint contribution. YOUR money and MY money—a small agreed allowance no one questions. This stops the feeling of being controlled.
Step 3: The No-Secret Debt Rule.
Agree from today: No new loan, no new hire purchase, no new family financial commitment above GHS 500 without telling each other first. Not permission, but information.
Step 4: Talk About Your Money Personality.
Are you a Spender or a Saver? Are you Risky or Safe? Most Ghanaian marriages are a Spender married to a Saver. Neither is wrong. But if you don’t understand your partner’s personality, you will call his saving “stinginess” and her spending “wastefulness.”
Step 5: Do a Monthly 30-Minute Money Date
Not an argument date. Light, with tea. “How did we do this month? What worried you? What should we plan for next month?” Couples who do this divorce far less.
My Final Word
Before you say “I Do” at the altar, have pre-marital counselling and also have the money talk on the sofa.
Ask your partner:
“If I lost my job today, how long can we survive?”
“What debt are you bringing into this marriage?”
“How much do you send to your family monthly and will that continue?”
If he or she gets angry that you asked, don’t get married yet. A person who is angry about accountability will be abusive about money.
Marriage insurance is not bought at Star Assurance or Enterprise. It is bought in honest conversations when no one is watching.
The wedding costs one day. The marriage costs a lifetime. Don’t enter a lifetime contract and covenant with hidden costs.
You can still insure your marriage today.
Source:
Counselor Prince Offei, CPAC’s founder, is a leading Mental Health Professional, Marriage Counsellor, Author, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, and Spectator Newspaper Columnist. He writes on relationships, marriage, parenting, special needs support, and their connection to mental health. For therapy, counselling, or enquiries, contact Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Accra on 0559850604 / 0551428486.
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