Football and Patriotism

"When did Ghanaians become so patriotic?" That's the question I asked when I visited Ghana for a few days before the Black Stars historic World Cup win over the dreaded Czech Republic. My question was prompted by the preponderance of the national flag flying on cars, buses and buildings every where. It is quite understandable, how the value and love for the national colours will increase as a result of Ghana qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. But equally amazing is the nationalistic spirit it has generated among millions. From Takoradi in the Western Region to Adawso in the Eastern Region and down to the national capital Accra, it was all red, gold green and the black star! Reports from Kumasi in the middle belt and the north was not different. After being away for just one and a half years, Ghana was a very changed environment for me, and this was confirmed by the incredible 2-0 win over the Czechs in Germany.

Every radio station in Ghana carried a commentary on the match. I followed the first half of the match on radio, since we were driving around Accra at the time. The streets were fairly deserted and almost all shops and kiosks had a television being watched by more than a dozen people at every point. One scene that has remained with me was of this woman walking alone along a deserted road - she wasn't watching TV or holding a radio. And she walked with dignity. You'd be mistaken to think she is not interested in the match. Resting on her head was a really big hat with the ubiquitous read, gold and green colours. She was like a one-woman supporter telling the world that there was more to supporting her country's national team than watching them play on TV!

My friends and I got to sit in front of TV by the time the second half started. It was then that I understood the predatory kicks of the Black Stars. I have just enough interest in soccer to understand how it excites people - but watching the second half quite made me share the passions of soccer fans to a significant degree - after all, boys from Ghana were playing a very beautiful game, displaying rare skills on the ball. Their confidence and ease on the ball against a fearsome opponent made up for countless misses in front of the goal post. The stars could have scored goals that would have humiliated the Czech Republic forever; but as it turned out, the 2-0 win was enough to show the world that the Black Stars deserved respect and admiration in the world of soccer.

The result of the game fulfilled a prediction by Cameroon's football legend, Roger Milla that the world must stand up to watch Ghana on the day they qualify to play in the World Cup. Until now, Roger Milla's own country was reckoned to have caused the biggest upset in the World Cup when they beat Argentina in 1990. Ghana's victory and subsequent qualification for the quarter finals after beating the USA is a victory shared by Africa, starting from the great Roger Milla. The excitement has gone beyond Africa and has extended to black people everywhere - and I dare say not just black people, as many photos of people clad in Ghanaian colours show.

The Tottenham High road here in London was blocked on the day Ghana actually qualified for the quarter finals of the 2006 World Cup. You couldn't expect such a big party, even if Ghana had won the World Cup itself. There are probably more Ghanaian flags flying around London than there are England flags. It is an unprecedented revolution in how people choose to support a soccer team playing in the World Cup. Some university professor should write a revealing research paper soon, on how Soccer has whipped up an unprecedented patriotic spirit in Ghanaians -and even among those who are not exactly Ghanaians. And just before finishing this article, I caught a friend on instant messenger from Ghana and sure enough, he said "You should be in Ghana"

I said "really?"

"It's like a national parade here," he replied, adding," red, yellow and green everywhere." Then he made a personal confession:

" I even have a flag on my dashboard - just so I am not seen as "unpatriotic" So it seems soccer and patriotism are bedfellows!

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