I already mentioned earlier in other posts that I love soccer. How then do you expect me not to write about soccer in my recent (28 May - 2 June 2008) Ghana experience? If I should write about soccer for anything, it should be for the Africa Nations Cup / World Cup qualifiers currently running in Africa. While in Ghana, I watched (on television) the Ghana national soccer team defeat their Libyan counterparts in a game played in Kumasi, Ghana. The match was graced by the presence of the rich King of the Ashanti Kingdom. Great though the king is, he responded to an invitation by a 'mere' soccer player - the captain of the Ghana national side, Mr. John Mensah. The king got his value for time / money. I should mention that on that same day, the Ugandan side was a 1-0 victor over the Niger side (in Kampala). Please do not ask me whether there was some king in the stadium.
So what about soccer, flags and roads in Ghana? Upon my arrival in Ghana, I noticed several vehicles with the national flag hanging somewhere and somewhat on the inside of their windscreens. I first thought they were government vehicles but no government would have so many vehicles on the road at the same time. I then thought it was a national directive for all cars to carry the Ghana flags but I could not account for the ones that did not have. It later occurred to me that the previous Africa Cup of Nations was played in Ghana. Patriotism (perhaps exemplified by Comrade Kwame Nkrumah) was the reason. They were proud of their nation and also gave their full support to the national team. How sweet!
Then the roads. I love the road network (at least in Accra and Tema). I was driven on a road that was built by Nkrumah and it looks more recent than some 1 year old roads in some African countries. To me, that is yet another sign of patriotism. Any lessons to African leaders? What do they think when they visit Ghana and drive on "Nkrumah's roads" that are better than theirs? Well, they do not have shame in their vocabulary so this is not a worthwhile direction to go. Rest that case here and come back home to talk about soccer.
Uganda Cranes they are called. Yes, that is the Uganda national soccer team. If there is a better example of one making mistakes, learning from them, repenting and making good than what the Uganda Cranes did then I am not yet aware of it. After beating Niger 1-0 at home, they went away to Benin to earn a 1-4 defeat in the hands of Squirrels. The home press gave them 'stick' as expected. When the Cranes landed home, they (and the officials) apologised and promised to give the fans and the nation a treat. True to their word, on Saturday 14 June 2008 in Nelson Mandela National Stadium between 4-6pm local time they beat Angola 3-1 at home in one of their best games in years. I was on the roads in Kampala yesterday and today, but unlike in Ghana, the number of cars carrying the national flag is quite small! My dear Ugandans, we need to get behind our team (and nation) in a much more conspicuous way than we currently do.
While in Ghana, I also discovered that the young boys looked up to the Ghanaian players as role models as opposed to many in Uganda whose models are Brazilians and Europeans. The pictures of John Mensah, Michael Essien are seen on bill boards and they are in television adverts in Ghana. I must confess that I am yet to see this in Uganda. Well, they may not have made appearances yet in the World Cup but they deserve to be recognised. I am talking about Ugandan soccer players. Somebody please amplify this call.
Enjoy soccer, carry your national flag and thank God for good roads each time you come across one in Africa.
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