Spare us the prayer-talk
Those that have ears, let them hear. Those that have eyes, let them see. Even the blind see, by some miracles, but since this piece is not about miracles in football, let those who have ears hear.
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The lamest piece of noise I have heard in recent times was made on radio the other day by the Sports Minister, touting the power of prayer and spirituality as Ghana prepares for the global showpiece scheduled for mid-June in Brazil.
What was worse, a number of others, also touting prayer, sounded the horn, trumpeting the efficacy of prayer in football as part of the Ghana armada for conquest at the World Cup,
Really? Are you kidding me? How come Israel prays at the Wailing Wall non-stop, yet has nothing to show for its exploits in world football? Likewise, the Arab world prays five times a day, yet no Arab country has conquered world football. Somebody please ask the Sports Minister for me.
How come prayer did not spare Ghana in her 0-1 loss to declining Netherlands in Rotterdam over the weekend? Or did prayer avert the possible destruction Ghana could have faced? Rather, Adam Kwarasey was the hero, just like the Montenegro friendly, thanks to his outstanding keeping in the Ghana goal. Kudos, brother.
This subject is important, yet depressing, given that it is not a private individual holding such destructive belief but Ghana’s Sports Minister himself prescribing prayer in this scientific era as a core part of Ghana’s formula for success at the Mundial. V-e-r-y strange.
Athletico Madrid, subject of a 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League final recently, originate from Spain, a country embedded in religion. I am sure their fans did pray yet they succumbed to the techniques of the great Carlo Ancelotti, the extraordinary conditioning of the entire Real team and the excellence of Angel Di Maria and Marcelo, with input from the Gareth Bale and the history-making Ronaldo.
Now, would the Sports Minister p-l-e-a-s-e go ask Ronaldo if his achievements in football, particularly this season, could be attributed to prayer. Whatever Ronaldo’s response might be, would the Sports Minister let us know, please?
Also, please ask Ancelotti, the rest of his coaching staff, including France’s World Cup legend, Zinedine Zidane, and the playing body of Real Madrid, if their amazing run in the campaign and their dramatic victory over Athletico was attributed to prayer. Who are you kidding, Mr Sports Minister?
Ghana sports cannot even afford for you to kid yourself, for you are a public official vested with the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the country, an investment from which all Ghanaians have the right to expect good dividends. So spare us the prayertalk, p-l-e-a-s-e.
To Akwasi Appiah, Ghana’s senior national team coach, I say, don’t buy into that assertion. Rather, take the bull by the horn. It is time for you to stand up and be counted among national team coaches who have carved a reputation for glittering credentials. So far, in the two international friendly, your record stands at 0-2, with your team conceding one goal in each and scoring a big, fat zero!
Two losses in two friendlies caused Ghana to drop in the FIFA rankings and fail to spark confidence even among the most optimistic Ghanaian football fan. Perhaps, South Korea presents Ghana a chance to balance the scoring sheets in her last friendly next week to inspire confidence before the opening group encounter with the USA. Does Ghana have a prayer? Danger lurks, Akwasi. It is time to do a better job.
To our Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie, I say, please do not go chasing waterfalls. Stay in your domain of sports and spare us the bogus claims of spirituality as a formula for success in modern football success.
While you are praying, let us discuss other serious business. Why are salaries of coaches still unpaid? Why the spate of lawlessness on our fields of play? Why the mere pittance paid the police force to secure the underpaid and endangered referees and assistant refs?
Why the empty stands at playing grounds, impoverishing the clubs that can not pay their players decent wages, sparking mass exodus to other countries, for peanuts, shortchanging the quality of play in our local leagues that produced only one player, goalie Stephen Adams, in Ghana’s contingent to the world cup?
That is to say nothing of the apologies of parks masquerading as stadia, without proper structures and adequate security detail to ensure the safety of all at those grounds.
Why don’t you pray all these problems away, then? Please, spare us the prayer-talk and stop recruiting the all-too-willing stooges to back you up on radio and other media, p-l-e-a-s-e. That is not part of your job description. Leave the prayer-talk to the pulpits.
Also, please, when are you going to tell the truth about the super-secret package for the seven-member executive committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), instead of conning the gullible with talk about prayer?
How much are they getting paid for going to the world cup to watch matches in their premium seats? Would they EACH be taking in $15, 000 per match, tallying $75, 000 after only the three group matches, while approximately 20 retired internationals earn approximately ONLY $1, 500 to compensate them for a WHOLE LIFETIME of playing matches for their nation?
Really? What would be the justification for that? I say, if that is the case, give that committee’s package to the retired internationals, instead. That would be the honourable thing to do, Minister Elvis Afriyie.
Most of these ex-internationals bear critical needs, some ailing with no money for prescription, others just getting by, while some sports administrators preside over nation-bleeding, giving others carte blanche to line their pockets, yet claim a veil of religious sanctity, profaning prayer with sacrilege.
Please, spare us the prayer-talk, stop the lip-service towards the welfare of our retired internationals, stop bleeding Ghana and start leading Ghana Sports out of her impoverished state to the glamour befitting her, as she courts glory at the world cup finals.