African Football Fever!

For those that know me I’ve never been much of a fan for football or as we Canadians would call it “soccer”, so if you saw me a few Wednesdays ago draped in a Ghanaian flag and yelling curses at a Beninois goalie you might not have recognized me. In preparation for the African Cup of Nations, which begins in Accra come January, the Black Stars held a four-country tournament two weeks ago to test out their newly renovated stadium. I went to the gold game between Ghana and Benin, who are unfortunately called the Squirrels (not a very intimidating team name if you ask me, although ask any resident of the Queen’s ghetto and they might beg to differ). The stadium wasn’t filled to capacity but there was enough cheering, music and support to fill the empty seats. Ghanaians are definitely proud of their footballers and show their support by wearing flags, blowing trumpets, and even running through the stands bare bottomed (avert your eyes ladies!). The most enthusiastic are the National Supporters Union groups that take up full sections and chant, sing gospel and dance in sync. The atmosphere was definitely colourful and exciting. They say that visitors to Ghana should see three things, a wedding, a funeral and a football match. These events are definite windows into true Ghanaian culture.

The crowd was anxious for the first half where Benin managed to score twice on Ghana and the Black Stars were unable to reciprocate by the end of the first half. However, in true valiant nature, the Black Stars sprung back in the second half and managed to win the game and ultimately the tourney with a 4-2 victory. I think it was necessary to have some prep for the African Cup of Nations in January which will attract millions of viewers and spectators to three cities in Ghana. Ghana has a good chance of taking away the Cup this year, or maybe this is just a biased optimism coming through. After all, what do I know about African football? I really only know two Black Stars names, Stephen Appiah and Michael Essien (who Chelsea fans will know), who seem to be well loved by their fellow compatriots. But I guess you have to start somewhere, right? I know all the hard core football fans out there will be watching the Cup closely so I’ll be sure to keep my blog updated on the scores.

Go Black Stars Go!