Sports
When the preacher man uses football for effect
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At long last, the Ghana Premier League (GPL) roars off today after more than a year of inactivity. It is a great moment to relish again.
The aforesaid statement was not from a football administrator, nor one of the key actors of the domestic game. They were opening remarks of Rev. Father Emmanuel Duku of the St. Anthony Catholic Church in Nungua – a suburb of Accra.
It must be emphasised strongly that his statement was made way back before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the globe somewhere in March, this year.
But as has been his fashion, Rev. Duku blends his homily with pieces of thrilling, comical football news to the admiration of the congregation – especially the youth, who usually respond with tumultuous applause and cheers amid laughter.
He has a way of doing it and his absence is always felt by the youth especially – whenever he goes to a different parish to preach.
A dyed-in-the-wool fan of English side Manchester United and local side Asante Kotoko, the man of God says, employing football during the sermon is a way of catching the attention of the congregation.
“Sometimes, even before you start preaching, you look at the faces of the congregation and realise that they do not look bright – maybe out of tiredness, fatigue or some kind of stress. So, along the way, you try to poke some fun around football and suddenly everybody starts laughing and screaming in ecstasy,” he told me.
Indeed, football is the passion of the nation, and it is teasingly said that the 30 million Ghanaian population are all coaches! This is drawn from the fact that during games involving the national teams – especially the Black Stars, everybody interviewed can say one or two things that culminated in the victory, defeat or draw.
It is so deep, intricately plain-woven! That is the Ghanaian for you!
Perhaps, this COVID-19 moments will call for a more profound, tactful and maybe humorous way of keeping the congregation spell-bound during the homily.
Truth is that, the pandemic has dealt a fatal blow to many homes, and according to a senior pastor of the Church of the Messiah, at Swedru in the Central Region, Eric Buabeng, church members would have to be handled with sagacity and discernment.
“I love sports and use lots of football anecdotes to keep them engrossed on the message,” he said, adding that “you’ll need loads of cognitive content and tactfulness to handle the congregation today.”
According to him, the economic activities of many families have been seriously affected. Indeed, some of these ‘victims’ have come to church with their brains ‘scattered’ and looking for quick solutions to their predicament.
“And, of course you need to be smart. You do not feed such ‘feeble’ people with hard message. It wouldn’t just sink.”
So, before delivering his sermon at the New Covenant Ministry in Abeka Lapaz, an Accra suburb, Pastor Daniel Opuni screamed out: “Football is back!”
He was referring to the return of European top flight leagues: German Bundesliga, English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga. The leagues are being played in empty stadia; but never mind! Ghanaians have some bang-up affection for foreign football too.
Interestingly, the response from the nearly 100 Sunday morning worshipers was a thunderous appellation of “Pastor Opuni and his football,” as they burst into prolonged laughter.
A member of the church, who only identified himself as Alex, still had smiles emblazoned all over his face, after the one-hour permitted service.
“I admire the way Pastor Opuni interlaces his sermon with football. His illustrations with football and sports in general is simply apt,” he observed.
For Pastor Opuni, this has been a style he sculptured long ago when he was at pastoral school.
“Yes, that for me is a perfect way of grabbing their attention. It was a style I learned way back in school. We’re in difficult times and once I know they love the game, I always employ it to my advantage and luckily for me, it is working effectively,” he told the writer.
In the course of preaching, Pastor Opuni would illustrate to the congregation how they need to run away from the COVID-19 pandemic with the flight of Usain Bolt.
“It is very important for you to be equipped with the word of God, but you need to have the finest pair of feet like Usain Bolt to avoid catching the virus by adhering to the safety protocols of wearing the face mask, washing your hands with running water and soap as well as the use of alcohol-based sanitisers.”
Bolt is a Jamaican former sprinter and widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He hanged his spikes in 2017 and was a world record holder in the 100m, 200m and 4×100 metres.
Religion and sports they say serve different purposes. Religion is meant to provide people with spiritual well-being, while sport serves aesthetic needs and entertainment.
Indeed, for those who believe football and religion have something in common, or are intrinsically linked – maybe, they are right!
PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH
The Black Queens kick off their 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations journey on Wednesday, July 29, when they take on Cape Verde in their Group C opener in Morocco.
Coach Kim Lars Björkegren and his team go into the match full of confidence after weeks of intensive preparations.
The Queens held a successful pre-tournament training camp and played friendly matches to fine-tune ahead of the competition.
With morale high, Ghana’s senior women’s team will be targeting maximum points to get their campaign off to the perfect start.
The match is set for 5:00 PM GMT at the Moulay Rachid Stadium.
Football fans across Ghana will be watching closely, hoping the Queens can secure a positive result and lay the foundation for a memorable WAFCON 2026 run.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
With the World Cup fever gradually dying down, attention would switch to other equally important competitions from now to the latter parts of the year.
Barely a week after the global football showpiece that saw Spain upstaged Argentina as World Champions, over 70 countries gathered in Glasgow, Scotland for the Commonwealth Games that is attracting hundreds of athletes from the Commonwealth community.
Equally, 16 top female national teams in Africa would commence competition for the bragging rights as African champions when the delayed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 kicks off in Morocco tomorrow.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria are usually considered favourites for this showpiece, having shown the strength and character to dominate the game on the continent.
As defending champions, they come in strongly again, expected to face a more difficult sides like the Black Queens of Ghana, Zambia and Morocco who have been touted as possible teams to cause an upset.
Of the 16 qualified teams, nine featured at the previous edition held in 2024.
Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tunisia, who qualified in 2024, missed out this time, while Cape Verde and Malawi will make their first appearance in the tournament.
Today, The Spectator Sports takes a look at some of the teams expected to rub shoulders with the big guns in the female game.
Cameroon
After missing the previous edition, Cameroon returns to the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 determined to re-establish themselves among Africa’s elite.
The Indomitable Lionesses, one of the continent’s most successful women’s national teams, secured a place at the expanded 16-team tournament after receiving a second chance through CAF’s revised qualification system.
Now, under newly appointed head coach Valentine Nguele and inspired by emerging midfield star Naomi Eto, Cameroon will be aiming not only to reclaim their place among Africa’s leading nations but also to secure qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Cameroon boasts one of the richest histories in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Indomitable Lionesses have reached the final on three occasions—in 2004, 2014 and 2016—but are still searching for their first continental title.
Their consistency has also been reflected in three third-place finishes in 2002, 2012 and 2018, giving Cameroon six podium finishes overall.
Only Nigeria and South Africa have accumulated more top-three finishes in the history of the competition, underlining Cameroon’s long-standing status among Africa’s leading women’s football nations.
Zambia
After finishing third in 2022 and falling short of expectations at the 2024 edition, Zambia head to the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 determined to establish themselves among Africa’s elite.
With one of the continent’s most feared attacking units and new head coach Nora Häuptle at the helm, the Copper Queens will be aiming to lift the Women’s AFCON trophy for the first time.
Barbra Banda remains one of the biggest names in African women’s football.
The Orlando Pride striker has established herself among the leading forwards in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and returns to international competition after recovering from a hip injury suffered late last year.
Powerful, direct and clinical in front of goal, Banda will once again spearhead Zambia’s attack as the Copper Queens pursue their first continental title.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (Stallions Ladies) return to the competition determined to make history after missing the 2024 edition. Encouraged by an impressive qualifying campaign, the Stallions Ladies head to Morocco aiming to progress beyond the group stage for the first time.
Burkina Faso secured qualification with convincing victories over Burundi and Togo.
The Stallions Ladies defeated Burundi 5-1 on aggregate, following a commanding 4-1 first-leg victory before completing the job with a 1-0 win in the return fixture.
They carried that momentum into the final qualifying round against Togo, winning 2-0 in the first leg before sealing qualification with another 1-0 victory to complete a 3-0 aggregate success.
Nigeria
Reigning champions Nigerias head to Morocco 2026 looking to extend their remarkable record in the competition. With 10 continental titles to their name, the Super Falcons remain the most successful team in the tournament’s history..
Led by Captain Rasheedat Ajibade and head coach Justine Madugu, Nigeria once again begin the competition among the favourites.
Nigeria secured qualification to Morocco 2026 by defeating Benin 3-1 on aggregate in the second round of qualifying.
Having received a bye in the opening round, the Super Falcons took control of the tie with a 2-0 away victory in Cotonou.
They completed the job in Abeokuta, drawing 1-1 in the second leg after Ashleigh Plumptre opened the scoring before Benin equalised through Yasmine Djibril.
The result ensured another successful qualification campaign for the reigning African champions.
Cote d’Ivoire
After a 12-year absence from Africa’s biggest women’s football competition, Côte d’Ivoire returns to the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations aiming to re-establish themselves among the continent’s leading nations.
The Elephants secured an unexpected route back to the finals following the expansion of the tournament from 12 to 16 teams.
Now guided by experienced French coach Reynald Pedros and inspired by prolific striker Habibou Ouedraogo, Côte d’Ivoire believe they have the talent to challenge Africa’s established powers once again.
The Elephants were knocked out in the final qualifying round after a fiercely contested tie against Senegal. Neither side managed to score across the two legs, with Senegal eventually prevailing 5-4 on penalties to deny the Ivorians automatic qualification.
Following the expansion of the Women’s AFCON from 12 to 16 participating teams, CAF allocated the additional places based on the FIFA Women’s World Ranking.
⚽ Group A: Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Kenya,
⚽ Group B: South Africa, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Tanzania
⚽ Group C: Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, Malawi
⚽ Group D: Ghana, Cameroon, Mali, Cape Verde
By Andrew Nortey
