Overcoming the Mexican Challenge in London

*The headline is not deceptive but it is NOT what you are thinking. Organisers of the forthcoming friendly international match between the Black Stars of Ghana and El Tricolor of Mexico are working tirelessly to whip up interest and increase the hype to save the encounter. *

*With a week remaining before the game, there is very low visible interest within the Ghanaian community here in London.(That is a typical Ghanaian trait) If you think that is bad, just do a straw poll of Mexicans living in London and the scenario gets even worse.

*''What match and against which team'' and ''Where is the match to be played and when?'' are some of the remarks you get from Mexican brothers.The root of the problem is quite obvious. The Mexican community here is clearly not as vibrant or as dynamic as that of the West Africans. London is not Dallas or New York and because the game is being played on Ghana's ''home away from home ''turf, the onus is on the Ghanaians to push the match as aggressively as possible.*

*That brings the promotional headache to the doorstep of the powerful D-Vision Network under the leadership of CEO Dennis Tawiah.

*Yet unlike Ghana's previous other matches in the UK, there are new obstacles that make next wednesday's event a bigger challenge for D-Vision. For starters, the English Football authorities insist tickets for the game can ONLY be sold by ticket agents AT the stadium! Traditionally tickets are spread out and sold in over 80 Ghanaian owned shops and businesses in London ALONE! It won't happen this time.

*Another factor is the choice of opponents for the Black Stars. One must ask if this is a carefully thought-through process or some extra cash in the bank for a few who will ''win'' regardless of the turn-out? For example is it true that coach Le Roy has business links with the French based company who usually organise our matches? With Ghana's impending world cup qualifiers in mind,surely preparing for our opponents style of play would make sense? Is Mexico the right choice to prepare for Libya, Gabon and co? I put that to Le Roy and you can read the full interview on myghanafootball.com

*My colleague Ibrahim Sannie of BBC African Football gives another perspective. ''Mexico may have been the preffered choice for good reasons.But, in order to reach their fans, we need to go into their communities and hype up the match''. According to Sannie, the Mexican commnunity here can mostly be found in South London near the Oval.''We would need to put out stories in local newpapers and try to get on some local Mexican radio shows or else the burden of filling Craven Cottage would fall solely on Ghanaian fans''*

*Sannie's assertion means that for Ghanaians who are notoriously fond of being ''last minute.com'' merchants, kick off might as well be at 9pm and not 7:45pm. Not surprisingly, according to Ghana's top events promoter in the UK,Dennis Tawiah,it will be alright on the night.''We are hopeful fans would turn up in their numbers to watch Africa's number one team aaginst the El Tricolor and we are making it possible for fans to get theur monies worth''*

*The diplomacy is understandable from Mr. Tawiah but the fact remains that on the very same day at the same time just a few miles away, Brazil play Sweden at the Emirates. Talk about bad timing for good competition.*

*Oh yes,and it is also the bank holiday weekend after easter...tickets are not cheap you know!*

*As optimistic as organisers are, they are NOT expecting 90% of the stadium to be filled by Ghanaians alone, otherwise there could be some tricky and embarrassing shots of empty spaces on the tv screens for those watching back home.But who cares? It's all about money.*

***At the risk of sounding naive i thought the team's overall interest comes first? So why can we not have a win-win situation if these basic factors are considered. Football fans are ready to pay good money to go out and enjoy themselves if they are gauranteed a good game. If London is now the official home of the team away from Ghana then fine but my good friend Randy Abbey and kwasi Nyantakyi should start looking at the ''home'' nations too. Rep of Ireland and Scotland for starters and ofcourse ENGLAND! Picture it Ghana v England at Wembley.*

*Is it all gloom and doom? Not at all. A cursory look at the enquiry list shows that certain influential managers in the premiership would prefer to watch the West Africans take on the contrasting style of their Central American opponents.*

*Meanwhile my own recent figures and observations seem to indicate that more women are going to the stadiums these days to watch Ghana. And why not?There is an added bonus of Agogo, Essien, Muntari and a few new spice boys to hot things up on what would be a very cold night of football. After all is said and done, Craven Cottage is still the place to be on wednesday night!*