Ghana Black Stars
The good old days of triumphs in the field of soccer appear to be returning. The victories by our national teams in the past few days in a row are developments worthy of celebration.
We pray that the streaks of successes are maintained.
After a long lull in the doldrums of soccer, we could be bouncing back to our days of soccer prowess. The feats coming on the heels of the mother of all scandals in the annals of soccer history in the country and perhaps beyond is a good respite. Ghana would be remembered especially for the sterling performance of her female teams and not about bribes being paid to referees or even managers of soccer soiling their images through underhand dealings.
We need such victories to give us hope after a despondency which all but dampened our spirits for a long time even as others were rising to the sky.
The Black Maidens did it with a 3-1 victory in Finland in the World Cup qualifier series followed by Saturday’s African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) encounter in which the Black Queens overshadowed their Algerian counterparts.
The results of the Black Stars in Ethiopia whose outcome the President was so obsessed with was positive. He had earlier visited the team to pep them up and it worked; their win saying it all. So the journey to the 2019 African Cup Of Nations Qualifier continues in earnest.
It is with the women’s segment which is more elating – their exploits hardly attracting their compatriots previously. Now they have transmitted a message loud and clear: we are ready to conquer the world. We are determined so give us your support, government and citizens.
We do not expect them to have cause to grumble over being shortchanged; suffer delayed allowances or anything that is due them: they have exhibited an unsurpassed commitment to excel.
They have showed a predisposition to raising the flag of the nation and therefore demand maximum support from us, something which can come in the form of turning up at the stadiums in our numbers.
There is nothing as heartbreaking for our players as playing in near-empty stadiums when they are locking horns with foreign teams.
Many of us underrate the psychological importance of a high turnout at stadiums. It has the potential of encouraging players to play their hearts out – our female teams not being exceptions.
We have observed the efforts of the Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Hon Freda Prempeh, in whipping up interest in the matches of our ladies and we are happy although we are yet to determine the success of her calls for high turnouts as the matches continue.
Women soccer has finally arrived, a development which should be appreciated by both parents and the authorities. Parents and society should understand that soccer talents, especially with our girls, should be harnessed for the nation and the individuals.
By the end of the ongoing tournaments, the lives of many of the girls would have changed positively. It is no longer ideal to write off a girl who shows interest in soccer because of the chauvinist notion that it is a man’s world. Fly our ladies, fly even higher!