Residents in the Upper East Region are not particularly enthused about the performance of the Black Stars at the ongoing African Cup of Nations. Expressing deep frustration and disappointment in the team, some residents who called into A1 Radio’s flagship program, the Day Break Upper East Show, on January 23, 2024, prayed that the team would come home quickly and save them from further torment.
One resident who spoke said, “They are not serious. I don’t even know what they are doing there. They should just come home. Based on what they played yesterday, even if they are there, they cannot win it. Everything is wrong with the Black Stars. The changing of coaches is a problem. The players themselves are not serious. In about 10 years, we have changed about 20 coaches, why? Everything is just wrong.”
Another resident who called in advocated for the use of local players in such tournaments.
He said, “You see, they are wasting our money for nothing. Every time they go for these tournaments, they do not do anything, and we waste money. When you look at them, they are playing like they don’t want to play. To me, if they use local players, that would help Ghana. You can call the foreign players to play, but at the end of the day, it’s zero. Look at South Africa; look at the way they played. We are using money for nothing.”
Another caller argued that because officials at the Ghana Football Federation tend to earn more than the players, the players do not necessarily give their best during the games.
“The officials are taking more than the players, so how can the players perform properly? If you are rearing a hen and getting eggs from it, and you are eating more of the eggs than you are feeding the hen, how will the hen continue to lay eggs for you? Let’s look at the officials and see how we can manage them to better support the team,” he said.
“We played as if nothing was at stake. We deserve what we got,” said Humul Khrusum Tahiru, a celebrated sports journalist with A1 Radio, referring to the Black Stars’ 2-2 draw against Mozambique in the final round of Group B matches in the 2023 AFCON. She made these comments during an appearance on A1 Radio’s Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show.
According to Humul, part of the problems with the current setup may be managerial. “I will join the people who are calling for a change in the coach and maybe the entire technical team.”
If there is a change in the technical team, Humul advised that the new team be given time to build a new formidable Black Stars.
“When we get that technical team, what we have to do is give them some time. We should agree in principle that we would allow them some time to do the work well. We cannot go to tournaments and all the time be doing calculations. As of this morning, we are still doing calculations, waiting to see what would happen with Cameroon, Gambia, and others. Why? What wrong have we done to deserve this? Every tournament, we have to pick up our calculators, pens, and papers and be doing these types of calculations. We deserve better,” she argued.
Meanwhile, sports journalist and regular contributor to the Day Break Upper East Show, Pius Asack, has expressed heavy disappointment in the performance of the Black Stars at the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
Speaking to Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show after the team’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Mozambique, Mr. Asack explained that he has continually been let down by the results obtained by the team.
“They are playing with our hearts too much. I am calling on more Ghanaians to lose interest in the Black Stars because they keep disappointing us. We then have to divert our interest to the female side. They are doing very well. As for the Black Stars, yesterday it was very disheartening.”
According to Mr. Asack, the problem with the Black Stars goes beyond the players of the team to management and, just maybe, some spiritual component.
“Yesterday, leading by two goals, even though they were not scored in open play, we were happy. We should have been able to defend those goals, but a blunder from our captain let us down. Our coach also had problems. Maybe we have to consider that there is a spiritual problem.”
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
