Ghana

The Ghana national football team, nicknamed The Black Stars, started playing as an individual team after Ghana gained independence from Great Britain in 1957. This was the era of the Football Revolution, when the first Prime Minister of independent Ghana envisaged uniting the whole of Africa through football. This resulted in the establishment of the Football Administration, and the founding of the Ghana Amateur Football Association. In 1958 the association got affiliated to CAF and FIFA. Furthermore, the Prime Minister was also successful in getting sponsorship for the football team from Merrs R.R. Harding and Company, the pharmaceutical company. With this kind of support football became a part of their culture for the people of Ghana. Over a period of time, football in Ghana advanced from the amateur level to the professional level. This change led to the incorporation of the clubs under the Companies Code. Another prominent person who used football for socio-political reforms was Ohene Djan, the first President of the Republic of Ghana. He has the credit of using the sport to fight against apartheid in South Africa , to unite people of different cultures in Africa, and to draw the world’s attention on Ghana in the African map. The national team, which was known as the Gold Coast before the independence in 1957, now plays under the governance of the Ghana Football Association. The team has won the Bronze medal in the 1992 Olympic Games, having participated in the tournament 8 times. It is also the second most successful team at the African Nations Cup with 4 victories - in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982. This success has earned Ghana the title – The Brazil of Africa. Ghana, which is part of the Confederation of African Football, has also hosted the African Nations Cup in 1963. Despite its achievement at the Olympic Games and the African Nations Cup, Ghana has not been very successful at the FIFA World Cup. The national team has tried to enter the senior FIFA World Cup 11 times, but has qualified only once. The qualification was in 2006 when the team could reach only till the second round. However, Ghana’s Under-17 and Under-20 national football teams have been triumphant at the FIFA World Cup tournaments. The Ghana Under-17 team, nicknamed the Black Starlets, has won the tournament twice and also been the runner-up twice. Meanwhile, the Ghana Under-20 team, nicknamed the Black Satellites, has been the runner-up twice at the FIFA World Cup. The Ghana Olympic team, nicknamed the Black Meteors, participated in its first Summer Olympics football tournament in 1964. Following this, it competed in the tournaments in 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980. It also participated in the 1992, 1996, and 2004 events under the Under-23 category. It was in 1992 that the team won its Bronze medal, becoming the first African country to win a medal at the Olympic Games. At the 1992 tournament, which was held in Barcelona , Ghana recorded a 1-0 win against Australia in the finals match. Ghana has had two hideous incidents in its football history. The events have become famous as the Bochum Disaster and the Black Monday. The Bochum Disaster is related to Ghana’s loss in an international friendly match against Germany in April 1993. Ghana started off the match on a high note by gaining a 1-0 lead in the first 45 minutes. In the second half Germany scored 3 goals in just 1 minute, later adding another 3 goals to win the match 1-6. This match is etched in Ghana’s football history as the worst defeat. It is believed that after the first half of this match the Ghanaian team had a disagreement over the sharing of the match bonus, and this is considered to have led to the downfall of the team in the match. Meanwhile, the Black Monday signifies Ghana’s defeat to Sierra Leone in March 1987 in the first qualifying match for the 1988 African Cup of Nations. The Ghanaian team was over-confident that it could register an easy win, but Sierra Leonne won 2-1 and knocked Ghana out of the tournament. This defeat was probably a curse to Ghana, as it was in the lull for 3 consecutive years thereafter. In addition to the men’s senior national team, the Ghana Football Association also organizes women’s football in the country. Known as the Black Queens, the Ghanaian women’s football team has competed in 2 World Cup tournaments and the Olympic Games. It has also been the runner-up at the African Cup of Nations. The Ghana Football Association also oversees the activities of several football clubs in Ghana. Some of these clubs are Hearts of Oak, Liberty Professionals, Berekum Arsenals, Ebusua Dwarfs, Feyenoord Academy, Hotspurs FC, Power FC, Heart of Lions, Asante Kotoko, King Faisal Babes, Okwahu United, Goldfields, Sekondi Hasaacas, Tano Bofoakwa, Real Tamale United, and Real Sportive. The home stadium for football in Ghana is the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium with a capacity to seat 35,000 spectators. Other important football venues in Ghana are Baba Yara Stadium with 40,528 seating capacity, Len Clay Stadium with 25,000 seating capacity, Kaneshie Complex with 15,000 seating capacity, Cape Coast Stadium with 15,000 seating capacity, and Gyandu Park with 15,000 seating capacity. Facts and Figures: • Governing body – Ghana Football Association • Home stadium – Ohene Djan Sports Stadium • Men’s senior national team – Nicknamed the Black Stars • Men’s Olympic team – Nicknamed the Black Meteors • Women’s senior national team – Nicknamed the Black Queens • Under-17 national team – Nicknamed the Black Starlets • Under-20 national team – Nicknamed the Black Satellites • Famous players in men’s category – Arthur Wharton, Abedi Pele, Karim Abdul Razak, Ibrahim Sunday, Samuel Kuffour, Tony Yeboah, Michael Essien, Robert Mensah, Adolf Armah, Ishmael Addo , Owusu Afriyie • African Cup of Nations – Champions in 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982; Runners-up in 1968, 1970, 1992 • West African Nations Cup – Champions in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 • All-African Games – Bronze medals in 1978, 2003 • Summer Olympic Games – Bronze medal in 1992 • World Cup – Round 2 in 2006 Current Squad Name DOB Debut Richard Kingson  June 13, 1978  (age 29)  v Brazil, 27 March 1996 Sammy Adjei  September 1, 1980  (age 27)  v Sudan , 25 February 2001 Fatau Dauda N/A  2008 African Cup of Nations John Pantsil  June 15, 1981  (age 26)  v Algeria , 5 December 2001 Daniel Opare October 18, 1990  (age 17)  v Togo , 18 November 2007 Hans Sarpei  June 28, 1976  (age 31)  v Zimbabwe , 7 November 2000 Nana Akwasi AsareJuly 11, 1986  (age 21)  v Morocco , 8 September 2007 Francis Dickoh  December 13, 1982  (age 25)  v Saudi Arabia , 14 November John Mensah (vc) November 29, 1982  (age 25)  v Algeria, 5 December 2001 Eric Addo  November 12, 1978  (age 29)  v Tunisia , 9 February 1998 Illiasu Shilla  October 26, 1982  (age 25)  v Jamaica , 29 May 2006 Afful Harrison June 24, 1986  (age 21)  African Nations cup 20 Jan 2008 Stephen Appiah (c)  December 24, 1980  (age 27) v Benin , 24 December 1996 Michael Essien      December 3, 1982  (age 25) v Egypt , 04 January 2002 Sulley Ali Muntari  August 27, 1984  (age 23) v Slovenia , 17 May 2002 Laryea Kingston       November 7, 1980  (age 27) v Congo DR , 27 March 2005 Haminu Dramani    April 1, 1986  (age 21)  v Saudi Arabia, 14 Nov 2005 André Ayew  December 17, 1989  (age 18) v Senegal , 21 August 2007 Anthony Annan   July 21, 1986  (age 21)  v Austria , 24 March 2007 Ahmed Barusso  December 26, 1984  (age 23) v Rwanda , 6 July 2003 Moussa Narry   April 19, 1986  (age 21) v Togo, 18 November 2007 Bennard Yao  March 21, 1985  (age 22) v Brazil, 27 March 2007 Asamoah Gyan   November 22, 1985 (1985-11-22) (age 22) v Somalia , 19 November 2003 Quincy  April 15, 1986 (1986-04-15) (age 21) v Nigeria , 07 February 2007 Manuel ‘ Junior ’  August 1, 1979 (1979-08-01) (age 28) v Japan , 4 October 2006 Baffour Gyan   July 2, 1980 (1980-07-02) (age 27) v Sudan, 25 February 2001 Matthew Amoah   October 24, 1980 (1980-10-24) (age 27) v Morocco, 21 January 2002 Kwadwo Asamoah  N/A  2008 African Cup of Nations, 20 January 2008