Traders of Ghana flag and Black Stars branded jerseys and souvenirs have attributed the low patronage and interest in their goods to the abysmal performance of the national football team, the Black Stars.
Gone were the days when principal streets in the country would be filled with branded Black Stars souvenirs and paraphernalia anytime the national team embarked on an international assignment.
Ghana is participating in the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which kicks off in a few days and there is little or no display of the national colours to rally support for the national team as it used to be in the past.
Traders were deeply worried about the absolute stagnant sale of the Ghanaian football jerseys ahead of this year’s AFCON.
Speaking to GNA sports, many traders around Oxford Street in Osu, disclosed that the patronage of the Ghanaian football jerseys is at its lowest regardless of the upcoming African Cup of Nations.
A stroll through the very busy Oxford Street, which is well known to be a hub of Ghanaian football jerseys and paraphernalia had barely up to three vendors displaying anything related to football though it is the AFCON season and the Black Stars are amongst the competing teams.
Mr. Seth Bonnie, a trader at Oxford Street said that the traders had high hopes that the performance of the Black Stars would have uplifted the love of Ghanaians for the team and also boost patronage of souvenirs but all that hope have been lost due to the poor performance of the team in recent times.
“We were also hoping that they would win their friendly match against Algeria to at least boost some support but looking at what happened, we do not think we are going to have any proper sales. We hope that when they start the competition, they would do better so that we can also make some sales, he added.
Another trader who only gave his name as Francis also expressed his regret in acquiring a lot of stock of Ghanaian football souvenirs which are looking to become a loss to him as the public does not want to buy any of them.
He mentioned that all that is left for him is to just hope and pray the Black Stars to improve in the AFCON and gain the love of the Ghanaian public in order for them not to run into a total loss.
Ghana takes on Morocco on Monday, January 10, in their Group C opener at 4pm.
Source: GNA
