Sports
Stop this illusion; we’re no longer Ghana!
• Ghana has not won the Nations Cup since 1982
Decades back, Ghana football was a sheer delight to behold – combining finesse and aggression to the approbation of the entire contingent and the world at large.
Those were the halcyon era where Ghana almost effortlessly crushed all that crossed its path, culminating in four Africa Cup of Nations conquests – the last one coming in 1982. The Black Stars had won the trophy in 1978 for keeps.
It was only a matter of course that Ghana was nicknamed the Brazil of Africa, referring to the Brazilian national team that won the World Cup for keeps after its third conquest in 1970 – as defined by FIFA President Jules Rimet in 1930.
Come to think of it, the Stars have failed to win the Nations Cup grail ever since its last feat some 41 years ago. Even though the nation made some massive gains in youth football, we could not hold competition at the senior level by the scruff of the neck. We have never been consistent. Glow today and glum tomorrow!
Egypt that had clinched the trophy only two times when we were four-time champions, are now seven-time winners, whilst Cameroon are now five-time champions, having won the first coronet in 1984.
Worst of it all is that, we still consider ourselves giants of African football, and it is that illusion, get beaten embarrassingly by teams that are deemed minnows.
As far back as 1994, an unknown band of players from little known East African Burundi beat an Anthony Yeboah-led Ghana 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier, in the then capital Bujumbura. The world was in total shock. Nobody believed the result.
It was a rude awakening for Ghana football; at least, it thought us bitter lessons. One: we should not underestimate the strength of our opponents. Two: the gulf of difference between the teams at the apex and those at the bottom of the African game, has narrowed tremendously, and lastly we are no longer the Gullivers as we used to be.
Indeed, it is very lucid that we are failing to accept the fact that other nations – who were then playing second fiddle to us, have caught up or even overtaken us. It is one bitter reality we need to accept now to enable us re-engineer our football.
Only last Sunday, our locally-assembled side – known as the Black Galaxies, were beaten 2-1 by Island side Madagascar in their opening Group C match of the ongoing Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament in Algeria.
In terms of team profile, the Malagasy are nowhere near Ghana. But things have changed and the high time we got that to sink deeply, the better for us.
That defeat comes on the heels of a similar loss to minnows Comoros Islands who drubbed a near star-studded Ghana team 3-2 in last year’s Africa Cup of Nations played in Cameroon. Ghana needed to account for the Islanders to qualify to the next stage of the tournament. They failed – and the shocking slump led to a distressingly calamitous first round exit.
The Galaxies’ loss to Madagascar should serve as clarion call to our football managers to work like a Trojan, break their back and fix our football.
Interestingly, the other Group C game between defending champions Morocco and Sudan did not take place because Morocco failed to turn up – due to the political cataclysm with host nation Algeria.
Morocco and Algeria are locked in a rancorous rivalry partly over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where the Algerian-backed Polisario Movement seeks an independence referendum.
The situation has whittled down the group to three teams – meaning that anything aside victory in the Galaxies’ next game against Sudan, could blow them out of contention.
Well, whatever the upshot of that game is, may not really be the issue. The issue is that we have got to fix our domestic football to be able to build a formidable league where players would be surplus for requirement – or be made to battle fiercely for positions.
But first and foremost, we have to accept that we are no longer the best on the continent. We are no longer the Brazilians of African football. That sobriquet was surrendered long ago! We may have qualified for the World Cup four times; may have dazzled our way to the quarters of the Mundial; may have been the only African country to win the FIFA Under-20 World Cup (2009), but we should admit our football has sunk.
Of course, it is not a despairing situation, but we have a really tough row to hoe.
PlainTalk with John Vigah
The Tarkwa and Aboso enclave of the Western Region will come alive tomorrow as league leaders, Medeama SC, welcome Kpando Heart of Lions to the TnA Stadium for their final home game of the Ghana Premier League.
This penultimate fixture of the season could see Medeama clinch the league title, provided they secure a victory and second-place Bibiani Gold Stars lose their match.
To celebrate the occasion, Medeama SC management has engaged the Ghanaian musical duo, DopeNation, famed for their current global hit ‘Kakalika,’ to entertain fans.
Medeama posted a 1-0 victory over the visitors in their first-round fixture. If that result is anything to go by, then crowning the Tarkwa lads as champions may not be far-fetched.
At the Tuba Astro Turf, defending champions, Gold Stars, must pick up all three points against Dreams FC if they aim to keep the challenge on Medeama.
Tenth-placed Bechem United FC will look to push further up the ladder by taking all three points when they host record league winners, Asante Kotoko, at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park.
Bechem United is not mathematically safe from the drop, as a defeat could push them back into the relegation mix.
Meanwhile, Hearts of Oak SC will travel to the Nsenkyire Sports Arena in Samreboi to face the might of Samartex FC.
After a 3-0 home victory over Karela United last week, Vision FC will trek to the Kwame Kyei Sports Complex in Abrankese to face Nations FC in a high-stakes battle to avoid relegation.
In other matches, the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium will come alive as Karela United hosts Swedru All Blacks FC. The latter needs at least a point, to bolster their survival bid.
Aduana FC will welcome Wenchi-based Young Apostles FC to the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park in Dormaa in a fixture expected to be full of fireworks.
Finally, the already-relegated Eleven Wonders remain at the Swedru Stadium to welcome Berekum Chelsea FC.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
Wednesday (May 13) was a memorable day for fans of Division One League (DOL) side, Debibi United.
The club made history on that fateful afternoon as they registered a 3-1 win over Tamale City in the Access Bank Division One League playoff final to secure promotion to the Ghana Premier League for the first time.
Words alone cannot describe the emotional sights and scenes at the Accra Sports Stadium after the final whistle.
But those emotional scenes were understandable as they conceded the first goal of the game and were pinned to their half of the field for greater spells by a determined Tamale City side that also aimed a return to the elite stage of Ghana football, which they have tasted once.
But without that experience, Debibi showed character and refused to be suppressed and bullied by the Tamale lads.
They produced a stunning turnaround led by striker Kwadwo Antwi who delivered a match-winning performance by scoring a hat-trick to complete the 3-1 comeback victory.
Debibi United joined as the third club to have officially secured promotion from the Access Bank Division One League to the 2026/27 Ghana Premier League after winning their respective zones.
The two others were Port City and FC AshantiGold 04.
Port City emerged victors from Zone Three where they showed character against some very tough opponents including former Premier League sides, Accra Great Olympics, Okwahu United and a few others.
FC AshantiGold 04 topped Zone Two to book their place in the top flight.
But due to peculiar challenges in Zone One, the group has been divided into two with the respective winners facing each other in a play-off final to determine which side snatches the sole ticket for qualification.
Without doubt, the three clubs have done extremely well by qualifying from a stage of Ghana football which is often described as the wilderness of Ghana football.
It should surely be a reward for their hard work and not as a result of some of the funny stories about club collusions and maneuvers.
Although the DOL has undergone a lot of transformations to make it very competitive, the ‘wilderness of Ghana football’ tag is still associated with it as reports about poor officiating leading to questionable calls still fly around.
With little or no evidence to substantiate some of these, one has no reason to doubt their quality and readiness for life at the elite stage of Ghana football.
However, there is a trend in the past few years where clubs that gain promotion freshly suffer the fate of going back in the next season.
That trend is one that must influence their preparation for the GPL to avoid that path of history.
Thirty-four weeks of competition is no joke and the expectation and demands differ from what they are used to in DOL. Survival would mean consistency with results and ability to face the challenges that comes with life at the top.
By Andrew Nortey
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