Sports Features of Friday, 12 July 2019

Source: theheraldghana.com

Black Stars needs to win back the trust and love of Ghanaians first

Ghana Black Stars 2019 Afcon team Ghana Black Stars 2019 Afcon team

The element of surprise has never been the strong suit of the senior national team, the Black Stars, they always prove their critics right.

Since the disastrous outing in 2010, at the World Cup in Brazil, many Ghanaians, have lost faith in the senior national team. It is commonplace these days, to see Ghanaians openly supporting an opponent the Black Stars is playing.

The hatred has also taken a political twist, where ones support or against for the Black Stars, depends on which political party is in power.

At the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, where Ghana was kicked out of the tournament on Monday night by Tunisia, the sheer preponderance of calls for the Black Stars not to even advance beyond the group stage is unimaginable.

The euphoria and anxiety that always herald tournaments that the senior national team, takes part in, was missing.

Paraphernalia that are sold in traffic, in the markets, at supermarkets, as well as places where people gather or trade, was completely absent.

Football is a billion dollar industry; it has created jobs for thousands of people in other jurisdiction. The value chain is such that it transcends beyond the playing field, DSTV alone, pays the Football Association (FA) of Britain, about 18 billion dollars for television rights.

Over the years, we have lost sight of the need to build football into a multi-million dollar industry. Even despite the admission that, football is one thing that unites us, we still have not taking advantage of that to entrench the unity.

The senior national team, used to evoke a lot of emotions, and they were the passion of the nation, but today, there isn’t much to write about them, except disappointment and heartbreak.

The first trophy the Black Stars, has to win, is the love and trust of Ghanaians, until they are able through whatever means to win back what they lost, they will always lose out in every competition they participate in.

The cynicism on the part of Ghanaians towards the Black Stars, is just too much.

As a newspaper, we are of the considered opinion that, the senior national team, should embark on a nationwide tour and interact with Ghanaians, apologize for their past deeds and bring them up to rekindle the love lost between them.