NDC welcomes Black Stars home

Accra, July 5, GNA - The Greater Accra Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), on Monday commended the senior national team, the Blacks Stars, for their extra-ordinary performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Tournament in South Africa.

Mr. Kobina Ade-Coker, Greater Accra Regional Chairman, told Ghana News Agency in an interview that: "we should not sacrifice or judge the stars based on their painful exit at the quarter-final stage, but we must put their overall performance in perspective. "These are young men mostly from the victorious FIFA World Under 21 squad.nobody gave them a dog's chance to progress from the group stages but with tenacity of purpose and fortitude they moved from one stage to another until the quarter-final".

Mr Ade-Coker, an astute sports administrator, called for total support for the Black Stars' management team, the playing body and the coaches to ensure that "they are not disintegrated but remained solid for future battles".

The NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairman commended other African countries especially the host nation, South Africa, for their tremendous support for Ghana throughout the period "the support served as an energiser for the entire team to go the extra mile for not only mother Ghana, but for the continent".

Mr Ade-Coker called on Ghanaians to learn from the young men, "the can do spirit.if we all exhibit high sense of purpose, determination and confidence in what we do, Ghana would be a better place for all". He noted that distractive politicking have been the bane of Ghana and Africa's development, "it's time for us the current crop of political leadership to change the norm, we are all championing the interest of the nation.we must therefore desist from destructive politicking". Mr Ade-Coker commended government, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Sports Journalists across the globe and all political parties for their immense contributions and solidarity during the period. "The sense of nationalism should transcend the football field to all other endeavours of life, we need each other to develop the nation, we may have different ideas as to how to do it but we definitely need each other," he stressed.