Hotel staffs bid emotional farewell to Stars

(William D. Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent, Pretoria, South Africa) Pretoria, June 15, GNA- The Black Stars of Ghana, were given an emotional farewell by the staff of Protea Waterfront Hotel in Centurion, South Africa, in the early hours of Monday, as they departed for their base in Sun City, after making Africa proud by winning the continents' first game in the competition.

The staff of the hotel, a mix up of all levels of workers numbering about 20, lined up by the bus of the Black Stars, when the team was ready to depart and sang the "Shosho Loza" song, whilst waving at the players in the bus.

Dressed in their various uniforms, the staff, drawn from the catering and laundering departments, drivers and gardeners led by some management members, sang for a period of five minutes, with a continuous rendition of the "Shosho loza", whilst the Black Stars players responded with a wave.

Chritoss Phelephe, Executive House Keeper at the hotel, explained to the GNA that "Shosho Loza" means farewell or good luck and that they were proud of the performance of the team in their game against Serbia, hence the decision to line up by the bus to show their appreciation.

Phelephe said after two disappointing results by Algeria and Nigeria and a draw from South Africa in their respective opening games, they believed the Black Stars had rekindled their hopes with the win.

According to Phelephe, they are expecting the other African countries to emulate the performance of the Black Stars by winning their next game, adding that "this is an African World Cup and the cup must stay in Africa.

"We are proud of the Black Stars; they must go all out to win the cup for the continent. We want an African country to win, and I don't care which of them wins at the end of the day", Phelephe stated.

The Black Stars would play Australia on Saturday, June 19, in a game which will see them to the next stage if they are able to pick the three maximum points at stake.