The fight for who is the best on the African continent starts from the African Cup of Nations qualifiers which leads to the AFCON finals and a slot in the prestigious FIFA world cup. The Black Stars after going through series of factory resets and facelifts remains the same till today.
In recent news, the Ghana Black Stars have lost maximum points after playing Niger at the Stade Municipal de Berkane in the AFCON qualifiers after losing to Uganda at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana and blaming their lose on the pitch.
Many supporters, senior journalists and even players took to social media to criticize the pitch they played on blaming their poor performance on the and inability to shoot in front of goal on the pitch. It was a tussel of social media with many calling out the National Sports Authority and other the Ghana Football Association for improvement.
As many sympathized with players and their management team, others spilled out facts about the current playing body and their character with regards to representing the senior national team. In an interview with a Ghanaian supporter who see things different, she reiterated
“It is sad to see these players complain about everything except for their own efforts on the field of play. The Black Stars team was a force feared by any team that was matched against them but now it is all a joke. I used to watch Otto Addo himself play alongside Kuffour and the rest fighting for the team but these ones are just playing for playing sake. No urgency, nothing just playing anyhow because they know after the game they can blame it on the pitch”.
In todays game against Niger in Morocco, many people were expecting the team to put out a ‘Class A’ performance since they are not playing on the same pitch that caused them to lose at home but the story line proved the team is just as broken as the mindsets of those who bought into the fact that pitches caused them to lose.
On my social media handle, I quizzed a couple of people who were buying into the idea that playing on good pitches wins games but I had a different view by asking if England, Poland, Switzerland etc have won the FIFA world cup of if Arsenal has won the Champions league since they have been playing on world class pitches.
With the coach unsure of who to field and what tactics to play against which team, it will be very difficult to win even against division one side. Ghana as a football loving nation has no football DNA that would be peculiar from other teams, a footballing system that will involve the cults teams, juveniles and others into a setting that builds the entire football system.
Ghana after taking the lead through a deflected ball at the brink of half time through Alidu Seidu returned to the second half only to start playing like scared chickens. Niger realized the Ghanaian team was ducking and started pressing through D. Sosah who was tormenting the Ghanaian right back with all duels. His ball control and player take-on was amazing.
As the Ghanaian fans were left in limbo of whether their beloved team will be able to hold their lead, they could not defend a corner kick in the 88thh minute which produced the equalizer for Niger.
As many wait on for the excuse the management team will give this time around, many also hope thee entire management will be dissolved and rebuilt.
Shuaeeb Is a seasoned sportswriter, social worker, and philanthropist. He has been renowned for his support of disabled sports persons and championing for equal rights and opportunities for all sports persons. He is also a father of 4 children and married to His partner Moana who is of Australian descent. He currently does sports volunteering and disability support work aside from writing for this August media.
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