Undoubtedly, politics come second to football when we talk of the passion of this dear nation of ours. It started long ago even before the great ones like Abedi Pele. Tony Yeboah, Ishmael Addo etc were born. The great Republicans of the early sixties was in one way or the other a team owned by the great leader, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The man loved football so much so that anytime the Republicans had a match he will call them to his office and bless them before they go to play. The great Republicans of the early sixties was the pride of the nation.
In those good old days, there was a vast difference between football and money. The players were always on the warpath not to seek any booty but for the glory of the nation. The roll call is quite long but names of a few of them who are dead or alive today will help the younger generation who were born too late to know how patriotism prevailed in those years: There was Baba Yara, Aggrey Fyn, Ben Kusi, Ben Koufie, CK. Gyamfi, Dogo Moro, Wilberforce Nfum, Salisu, Adarkwa, Edward Acquah, Rev. Osei Kofi, and a host of them who made Ghana proud and yet never complained of the type of Jersey they worn or the type of food they ate. They did not even think of their future as they gave everything left in their strength to bring honour to their dear nation.
Baba Yara, the arch-dribbler for example, had an accident with his colleagues when they were returning from Togo after an international assignment. The guy escaped with a broken spinal cord and remained in a wheel chair and died a pauper. It was Wilberforce Mfum whose powerful close range shot torn the net and led to a controversy as to the whether the net was made of a good material. It was said that the referee initially disallowed the goal when he saw the ball rolling at the back of the goal posts. There was real power behind that shot, you know. Footballers in that generation brought joy to our hearts as they conquered Africa wearing their skintight acrylic national jersey and receiving negligible allowances.
Sunday Ibrahim, Yaw Sam, Kuuku Dazie, Mohammed Polo, Armah, Abukari (Goal na ma fefe), George Alhassan, Razak (Golden Boy), Joe Debra, Kwasi Owusu, Dan Owusu, Papa Arkoh, Emmanuel Quarshie, Koffie, Opoku Nti (Zico) and a host of yet another generation of footballers brazed the trail in the same way. They all just played their hearts out just to seek honour for their motherland. Not that professional football had not started then. Many African footballers who could not match the prowess of these our former players sought greener pastures outside their respective countries but our boys stayed home to contribute to the growth of football in their country. A few of them who went outside to play readily returned home when duty called. Not that they were not marketable outside but the fact is they see no need to contribute to the success of another country whilst their country failed as far as soccer was concerned.
Enter another generation and hear the roll call: Abedi Pele, Tony Yeboah, Odartey Lamptey, Daniel Addo, C.K. Akonnor, Kwame Ayew, Tanko Ibrahim, Sam Johnson, Yaw Preko and of course, Samuel Osei Kuffour, etc. This is the generation that is killing our passion for this noble game called football.
Money, fame, women and landed properties they have in abundance because today, football is money. But sadly some of this generation of footballers lacks patriotism. Some of them like Abedi Pele have been consistent when national duties called but the attitude of some of them leaves much to be desired. They come back home from their foreign bases to ride on our backs because they ride flashy state-of-the art cars fit for the Emir of Brunei and live like princes of decadent societies. They have forgotten where they came from and snub everybody including their handlers. Wealth has made them proud because some of them could not have made it in life if not for football. That is the real and naked truth. These foreign-based players must choose between honour and wealth if they want to be remembered with nostalgia.
We need to make a clear break from this sad situation. The era of pomposity, empty pride and haughtiness among the boys out there must come to an end. Until then, our passion will forever be a nightmare and the trophy will still be elusive. We need to start building a winning team straight away and put behind us the pain of coming back home one more time with empty hands. In fact this is not the time to pass the buck. The buck must stop at the door steps of Ben Koufie and his team
By Eric Bawah