Ghana football a score ago, was a beauty and delight to watch; a gem to lay your life for and an opportunity to elevate your spirit. Times have past and fast forward, the spirit of the nation behind the famous and trusted Black Stars of Ghana has drown in the abyss of fallen standard.
Fans no longer enjoy the game of our once beloved Black Stars. Gone were the days our skeletons danced to the clamouring sounds of “vuvuzelas” at the stadium. In the midst of opposing noise, the standout language was “Black Stars, Do or Die” with a countless number the red, yellow and green colours on display in every corner of the country.
Indeed, Ghana owes gratitude to likes of Tony Yeboah, Abedi Pele, Shamo Quaye, Sammy Kuffuor, just to mention a few. These are the legends who committed themselves even without inducement making sure that, Ghana had its name written in the historical books of the African biggest tournament – African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the world at large.
If we recall the Black Stars’ history, the last time the Stars won a trophy was in the year 1982. Subsequently, Black Stars have succeeded in qualifying to the AFCON many times, but failed to bring the trophy home unlike the Pharaohs of Egypt with whom they once upon a time rocked shoulders with on the continent.
African exploit
The Stars have successfully won four times the biggest tournament in Africa. The story started in 1963 – that was the fourth edition of the AFCON as Ghana hosted. They eventually made it to the finals to face Sudan on home soil. Goodness dawned on the Stars with a three-goal margin to lift the first trophy. Afterwards, the winning spirit settled on the Stars in the next edition of the tournament in 1965 making it, a back-to-back.
Preceding that, the Pharaohs of Egypt won the trophy twice; the first and second editions of the tournament to become the first country to win it twice in a row. It was a tie between the Stars and the Pharaohs until Ghana broke the tie with two more trophies in 1978 and 1982.
I am very sure the cheering hearts at the time believed the Black Stars would remain the leading nation in the AFCON. It is rather unfortunate that, since the last trophy won in 1982, Black Stars is yet to lift a trophy. However, the Pharaohs have managed to lift it five more times making it a record seven times including the ones they won in three consecutive editions (2006, 2008, and 2010). Painfully, the last trophy the Egyptians celebrated on the African stage was an encounter with the Black Stars in Angola.
As if that was not enough, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon never tasted Africa glory when Ghana last lifted its fourth trophy; however, history now remembers Cameroon as the second most successful on the Continent of Africa after lifting it five times. Nigeria, a West Africa neighbour is breathing on the neck of Ghana with a trophy to equal Ghana; even though it also won none as at the time the Black Stars won it for the fourth time.
It must be well noted that, the Black Stars is in history the worst performing country at the AFCON finals, having lost the final five times. Ghana lost to Congo (Kinshasa), Sudan, and Egypt in 1968, 1970 and 2010 respectively; they also lost to West African neighbours La Cote d’ Ivoire in 1992 and 2015 on penalties. In effect, all two trophies won by “Les Elephants De La Cote d’ Ivoire” came at the hands of the Stars.
Exploit of local players
The Stars have tasted some sweet feet in football in Africa. The likes of Abedi Pele, Tony Yeboah and Sammy Kuffor made history for Ghana. In the 1960s down to late 2000s, the Stars were dominated by locally talented players such as Dodoo Ankrah, Ernest Joe De Graft, Addo Odametey, Atta Kwame, Charles Taylor and several others. These players were dominating in the local league; they played for Real Republicans (which dissolved in 1966), Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko. They were equally good as the Pharaohs unlike the recent Black Stars.
Nowadays, we had and have big names who play in some of the top football leagues in the world – English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga, Italian Serie A and others, yet, trophies fail to smile at us. The golden generation of the Black Stars with Stars such as Asamoah Gyan, Stephen Appiah, Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Richard Kingson, John Mensah, Samuel Adjei, Dede Ayew and other international league players failed to win a single trophy. Imagine, when Black Stars was dominated by locally talented players, they won trophies so the acclaimed international players could have done better than that.
Look at the Pharaohs, even in the 21st century, you can count the number of players who played abroad in their national team. It seems they believe in their “home-made” players than those abroad. Players such as Mohammed Hany, Zizo, Afsha, Abdallah El Said, Mohamed Abu Treika played in their local league. They played the likes of Zamalek, Al Ahly and Pyramids equivalent to our local such Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko and other teams in the Ghana Premier League.
The patriotic spirit that elevated Black Stars into the memory of African football and the world seems to be in exchange for some foreign “papers with numbers” on them. The cheering spirits have significantly faded. The “street love” for the Black Stars has washed away.
There is a high possibility that if individuals who are fortunate to manage the Stars revisit the ancient way of selecting players “sankofa yenkyi”, Black Stars will rise again to resurrect the “street love” for Ghana football.

BY FRANCIS ELORM AGUDU