Obed Boafo tries to grasp what World Cup football does to the entire nation of Ghana.
Some four years ago, in Germany, some 23 young men made Ghana proud by participating in the FIFA World Cup – their first appearance at that stage.
Back in Ghana, their compatriots were in a jamboree of red, yellow and green colors of the national flag in a show of unity and solidarity.
Never in my twenty something years stay in the capital city of Accra had I ever witnessed such a colourful and splendid moment. For the first time in so many city years, I saw a Ghana united by colours, a Ghana where each person was the other’s keeper and a Ghana where, complete nonsense was made of politics (our daily bread).
In fact, this was the moment where you could make too much noise on your next door neighbour and expect to be forgiven, run into another person’s car and walk away free because a goal was scored against the United States of America, go to work late and expect your boss to wince at you in a friendly manner and even cheat on your partner, get caught and not get queried! That was the magic of Germany 2006…
You could imagine all those who committed one crime or the other say “we did it under the influence of football” (Not alcohol!).
What playfully started as a passing comment – that Africa would one day get to host the rest of the world, ceased to be a mere wish when Nelson Mandela’s South Africa, last week played host to some other 31 countries in the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup.
Business was good both during the day and night. Accra and just about the entire country went crazy over the fact that they were watching their very own Black Stars in the comfort of their homes and offices, play against some of the world’s biggest names… Kaka, Zidane, Ronaldo and Lampard – just name them.
It was not as if Ghanaians had never come close to witnessing their own play against big shots but something almost surreal and subtle about Germany 2006 made them crave for it in large numbers.
The drinking pubs, video cinemas, restaurants and other public places recorded unprecedented numbers of people wanting to have a peak at history in the making.
I remember, in that 1/16th stage game against Brazil, the streets of Accra went dead so much that no single soul was seen loitering the streets.
This was kind of weird, knowing how Accra of all places is like. Truth is, Ghanaians love their football, so when it comes to important matches like that one against Brazil, don’t be surprised to learn that even the seat of government gets caught up in the razzmatazz.
In fact, this was the moment where you could make too much noise on your next door neighbour and expect to be forgiven, run into another person’s car and walk away free because a goal was scored against the United States of America, go to work late and expect your boss to wince at you in a friendly manner and even cheat on your partner, get caught and not get queried!
Even though very little was achieved in the Brazil match, which led to the Black Stars exiting Germany, it appeared a nation and its people felt content and appreciative of the little their men went to Germany to offer. Their arrival at the Kotoka International Airport was as if they had brought the trophy home, and in a sense, they had.
A nation was for once, proud and strongly bonded in one mission and unity. For Ghanaians living in the Diaspora, especially in Germany, it was a befitting one month of history as their pride was restored more than ever.
Germany 2006 has come and gone…
Enter South Africa 2010.
What playfully started as a passing comment – that Africa would one day get to host the rest of the world, ceased to be a mere wish when Nelson Mandela’s South Africa, last week played host to some other 31 countries in the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup.
That, Africa hosting it for the first time, makes it historic as any other superlative. To say that Ghana’s own Black Stars are making a second time appearance after Germany 2006 is pithy and awesome.
Today, when the flags go sky up high in the vibrant city of Johannesburg and the whistle blows signaling the beginning of one month of pure fun, I will be glad that after all, the Ghana that I so much love and hate at times is making a representation.
I will be glad that come one day when the story is ever told of a FIFA World Cup that came around Black Africa, Ghana was part of that history.
But beneath that gladness, would also lie the joy, happiness and unity it brought to the country.
During this one month of footballing festival, I expect to see a Ghana come together just like in 2006. I expect to see a more red, yellow and green Ghana that will outnumber those political flags still hanging around the city long after the 2008 elections.
For a country, whose last elections was decided by just a little over a hundred thousand people, a panacea (and this I find in South Africa 2010) is needed to heal the sharply divided wounds of its people.
It was not as if Ghanaians had never come close to witnessing their own play against big shots but something almost surreal and subtle about Germany 2006 made them crave for it in large numbers.
The politician, as usual has failed to live up to that billing of bringing every Ghanaian living everywhere together as one and that doesn’t seem like happening anytime soon.
Football, I am certain (judging from what I saw in 2006) will get this glitch kicked out and to make this happen once more, will require a group of selfless and dedicated men going for the battle in South African football stadiums.
Sometime last month, when Coach Milovan Rajevac called up his final list of 23 players, he was carrying the normal duty of a technical handler but some 22 million Ghanaians saw something more than just “a final squad”.
They were seeing hope, restoration, redemption and success in the men chosen for the battle. For many Ghanaians, their country’s unity lies in what will become of the team in far away South Africa and why their team needs all the encouragement and solidarity.
Whether or not that highly-spirited wishful thinking will pull in the goals will best be told over a month’s period.
But trust the Black Stars to deliver when it matters most. Forget about the fact that a certain Asamoah Gyan will miss too many chances at a go much to the chagrin of many Ghanaians. Trust Richard “olele” Kingston to kowtow to some cheeky aerial ball situations that will make you swear a four-letter word, you will still wish them well…
But after all the heartbreaks, highs, lows and mid-tempo football sessions over this one month period, something, more than any other will bind us as a people together – football, at least that, we all know.
Milo’s 23 would have to face off and vanquish the likes of Nemanja Vidic (Serbia), Harry Kewell (Australia), Lukas Podolski (Germany) in these opening shots, as Ghana inhales and waits to exhale!
Obed Boafo is the Assistant Editor of the The Mail newspaper in Accra, Ghana.
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