Sports
Exorcising the ‘losing demons’ in 2023
● Meteors celebrating a goal against Mozambique in their last game
Ghana football experienced a topsy-turvy ride in the just-ended year, leaving in its wake tears, anguish and despair.
It is not an all-too unfamiliar path for Ghana football, anyway. The nation’s game has for a while suffered a slump, recording results that would easily turn the uninitiated away from the sport.
Last year alone, the national 17 female and male football teams failed to qualify for major continental competitions. The Under-20 female side – Black Princesses, managed to clinch a ticket to the World Cup in India but were hugely humiliated as they lost all games by wider margins.
Our Black Stars did the nation some pride, edging out arch rivals Nigeria to qualify for the recently-ended World Cup in Qatar only to crash out in the opening round – a near replica of their calamitous 2014 first round exit in Brazil.
At club level, the nation’s Gullivers – Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak, were bundled out of their respective continental campaigns as they failed to reach the Money Zone.
Heartily, boxing and athletics stole a medicum of glory with five medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games – the pugilistic sport snatching three medals. It was quite worth celebrating, especially when only one medal was won in the previous quadrennial sporting festival in Australia.
This month – specifically from January 13, Ghana’s locally-assembled stars known as the Black Galaxies, will be representing the country at the now-popular Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament in Algeria, having been flung into a taxing group that consists of Morocco, Madagascar and the Sudan.
It is the team’s fourth championship but so far has nothing to shown for honour despite having finished second in the competition’s maiden even held in Cote d’Ivoire as far back as 2009.
This term, the Galaxies have demonstrated strong intent of winning the trophy for the first time, signals that were picked from their preparatory games – after eliminating rivals Nigeria in the final qualifier.
Camped in Egypt to sharpen their arsenal for battle, the Galaxies last week thrashed Egyptian club giants 3-1 in a dominant performance, having earlier accounted for Egypt’s national Under-20 team 2-0.
With the mood in the country quite low and despairing, we can only count on the spangling ‘local boys’ to restore the smiles on the faces of Ghanaians following the disappointment of the Black Stars in Qatar.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) must do its damnedest to ensure that we exorcise the demons of defeat that has haunted the nation’s passion and this should start with success at the Algeria CHAN tournament.
Having showed such strong promise in the series of games they have played – right from the qualifiers to this stage, all that the Galaxies need now is self-confidence. The team must believe in themselves; have the assurance that they can conquer all that cross their path.
That intrinsic motivation and those coming from the GFA and the government should be enough to do the trick.
By John Vigah
Ghana will face Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia and Somalia in Group C of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The draw was held on Tuesday in Cairo, where African nations learned their routes to the continental tournament.
Two teams will qualify from each of the 12 groups of four for the finals. The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — the first East African co-hosting arrangement in the competition’s history.
Ghana head into the qualifiers targeting one of the two slots from Group C after missing out on the previous edition in Morocco.
Qualifying schedule:
Matchdays 1 & 2: September 21 – October 6, 2026
Matchdays 3 & 4: November 9 – 17, 2026
Matchdays 5 & 6: March 22 – 30, 2027
Black Stars assistant coach Roger De Sá says joining Carlos Queiroz’s technical team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a no-brainer.
Speaking on Beyond The Whistle, the South African revealed Queiroz’s call was no surprise given their long-standing relationship and shared ambition.
“The call from Carlos did not surprise me. We have similar dreams and I always want to see him succeed,” De Sá said.
For the experienced coach, Ghana’s pedigree made the decision easy.
“Being called to assist Carlos was not difficult. This is Ghana and it’s the World Cup we are talking about,” he stated.
De Sá recalled the moment Queiroz rang: “It was an exciting 3am call. I told my wife first and, as custom, she said, ‘We are leaving.’ I replied, ‘Let’s go!’”
He praised Queiroz’s collaborative style: “Carlos listens. He doesn’t have to take every opinion, but he welcomes different views.”
Back in Africa, De Sá said the feeling was special. “It’s great to be back. Africa is not a place, it’s a feeling.”
The former Bafana Bafana assistant was full of praise for Ghana’s talent pool.
“There is so much natural talent in Ghana despite limited resources. As an African football lover, the talent here is unbelievable. You guys don’t know what you have with limited facilities and infrastructure,” he said.
Comparing both nations, De Sá noted: “We in South Africa have talent too, but a different kind with all the facilities. Yet we don’t go forward with our talent.”
Ahead of the World Cup, he believes the Black Stars only need unity.
“We are not going to teach them how to play. We have the players. We only have to put them in the right position, with the right frame of mind, and when they put on the jersey, they should perform.”
De Sá assured Ghanaians of the technical team’s commitment.
“We are here to do our best and make Ghanaians happy. If Carlos does his job, there is none better than him,” he said.
“We will pick our targets as they come. If our players play to their abilities, we have a realistic chance to progress,” he concluded.
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