Is Robert Mensah the wee-smoking goalkeeper Osei Kofi spoke about?

Reverend Osei Kofi caused stirs on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 with his revelation of a former Black Stars goalkeeper who was reluctant to feature in the final of an AFCON match because he had not had a puff of Indian hemp.

Osei Kofi, though short of mentioning names gave hints which offered people insight into who the goalkeeper could be.

An AFCON final between Ghana and Sudan was mentioned as the game during which the incident occurred. The tournament in question was held in Sudan.

“Ahead of AFCON final match between Ghana and Sudan, I won’t mention the person’s name but his position. Our goalkeeper in that game smokes ahead of every game and his wee got finished before the final. He shared a room with the captain of the side so when he was undressed ahead of the game, the captain queried him”.


“Unknowingly, the goalkeeper had sent a Sudanese boy in the hotel to go to the Sudanese captain and get him some wee. So the Sudan captain got the wee for the boy but the boy delayed in bringing the wee.

“By match time, the wee hadn’t arrived and the goalkeeper was undressed in his room. The boy met Ben Koufie at the reception of the hotel and informed him about the wee mission. Ben Koufie took the wee and asked the captain who was with him if he should give the substance to the goalkeeper. Ben Koufie upon the advice of the captain handed out the wee to the goalie and within twenty minutes he dressed up and was singing”.

GhanaWeb has done some checks to put faces to some of the clues dropped by Osei Kofi in his report.

Available information which has been confirmed by a member of the squad indicate the tournament was the 1970 AFCON which as mentioned earlier was held in Sudan.

The skipper of the team who according to Osei Kofi advised Ben Koufie to give the substance to goalkeeper was the legendary John Eshun.

The Ghana goalkeeper who kept the match against Sudanes which ended in a painful 1-0 defeat for the Black Stars was Robert Mensah.

While this GhanaWeb cannot vouch for the veracity of Osei Kofi claims, it can confirm that Robert Mensah was the man in post for Ghana in the final of the 1970 AFCON.