Ghana Black Stars and AFCON – A History of Mixed Feelings

The Black Stars of Ghana made their first appearance in the competition in 1963 as the host and won in the finals against Sudan. Two years later in 1965, they won another trophy against Tunisia, leveling up with the Egyptians who had won the trophy twice – haven also won the maiden edition of the competition in 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan.

However, Egypt advanced to win the trophy for a record seven times; and by 2010 they completed a successful hat-trick of African Cup of Nations Titles, haven won in the years 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Ghana won only four trophies in the years 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. Ghana therefore last won the trophy over Fourty (40) years ago. It is interesting to note that, the Black Stars of Ghana were the first team to win the trophy for three times; and were given the permanent right to keep the original trophy named the ABDELAZIZ ABDALLAH SALEM TROPHY in 1978. Remember, the trophy originated from Sudan hence the name.

Since 1982, Ghanaians have always hoped for another trophy but to no avail. The array of top players that Ghana has produced over the years could have won us another trophy but all attempts ended in failure. The young players who defeated Brazil in the 2009 U-20 World Cup were expected to carry on to the senior team and repeat ‘wonders’ but that was not be. Only Andrew Ayew, Jonathan Mensah, Emmanuel Badu, and Samuel Inkoom made an impact on the national team.

Though most people superstitiously believe there is a generational curse on the team, this new era seems to be free of generational curses as can be seen in the emergence of new teams full of surprises. Cape Verde is one of those teams: Of late, the Island nation has taken football so serious and it appears it will soon become a foreign exchange earner for them. They are treating football as a commodity; and their closeness to Portugal could be of benefit to them. Both Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo have Cape Verdean roots. Ronaldo’s maternal grandmother was from Cape Verde, making him an African. That is something most of you now know.

The poor performance of Ghana Black Stars in recent times can only be attributed to the nation as a whole not having a concrete plan to win any trophy again. They have however been favorites and have come closer on some occasions to winning the trophy but failed to.

Stakeholders in sports can groom homegrown players specifically for AFCON, invest a lot into them and hire the best coach on a long term contract.

The level of pride in our players should be one of nationalism and not of ego. A player that represents his country is like a soldier on the battlefield – he has to fight hard so he returns home to a large crowd of supporters who would hail him as their hero.

As expected, there will be a degree of favoritism in the selection of the players that represent the nation in the AFCON tournament but that should solely be based on the potential of the players; and not on religious or tribal grounds.

Can Ghana ever win an AFCON trophy? YES but only if we learn our lessons and make the proper amendments. This is not a time for blames. It is a time to think of lessons learned the hard way and start afresh towards a brighter tomorrow.

Our hearts were both broken and also made to rejoice on different occasions: so we the supporters now do not know what to expect. When it comes to match predictions, everyone should follow his/her heart. That would be better than blaming anyone for making you lose your bets on the senior national team.

By Sylvo Ben-Afa