Goooooal! The FIFA 2026 World Cup is already underway.
Nations are cheering their teams on. It is that season again when hearts will be broken. Tactics and strategies are at play. Some underdogs will pull some strings of surprises.
New talents will be born. All interests are on hold. The only interest now is which team takes home the cup.
Ghana has put up an impressive performance so far. The entire nation is joyously behind our Black Stars. Their first two matches have already rekindled the love for the game and team. Fans are staying overnight to watch their stars.
Many football lovers have invested ounces of emotion into every Black Stars’ game. This is the passion the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has always yearned for, and they have it now.
The nation’s love for the Black Stars has boosted the economy of football. Vendors and market women are effortlessly cashing in on souvenirs and paraphernalia.
This is the beauty of the game of football. Everybody wins. Some win emotionally. Others win financially. There is no loser.
I love to see Ghanaians flaunt their identity with their jerseys and flags. This is the season ― maybe the only season ― that many would get to show off their national pride.
The sound of the national anthem before every kickoff would make many tear up.
The balls that find their way to the back of the net would make people of different political parties and ethnic groups hug each other.
Football is a tie that binds people, regardless of the divide they belong to.
Much as we are excited to let the whole world know we are Ghanaians, this is the season to reflect on whether or not we are Ghanaian enough. This is the opportune time to genuinely weigh the love we have for our country and fellow countrymen.
Our jerseys are not proof of our love for Ghana. Our character is. The patriotic Ghanaian who shows up to root for Ghana is the same Ghanaian who should show up every other day when the future of this nation is at stake.
Do not tell me you are a patriotic Ghanaian because you hoisted the national flag on your car. Tell me you are truly a Ghanaian because you refused to jump the red light, even when no one was watching.
Your patriotism should not only come alive when the Black Stars are about to play a match. Every day, Mother Ghana allows you to show off your patriotism by condemning corruption and all other ills in our society.
Our love for Ghana should not be an event. It should be a culture ― the life we live daily. The length we are willing to go to see Ghana win a football match is the same length we should travel to ensure that the no-bed syndrome in our hospitals becomes an uncomfortable past we would not want to remember anymore. Yes, we can!
It is good to wear a Ghanaian jersey. However, it is better to wear Ghana in your heart. The love we have for Ghana must go beyond our jerseys. It should reflect in how we treat state property.
If you love Ghana, it will definitely show in how you treat power when entrusted in your care. You cannot cheer Ghana on a match day and tear her down on all other days.
A football team is an embodiment of a nation. No matter how talented a player is, they cannot win alone. Every team’s success is built on teamwork. In the same manner, the success of a nation depends on every citizen.
A nation can only be built collectively. It will take you and me to mould Ghana into that dream nation we all aspire to travel to.
The broken systems in our nation can be fixed, but it depends on you and me. It will take you and me to find a lasting solution to our poor sanitation. The mediocrity of political leadership can be a thing of the past as long as you and I are ready to make it so.
The indiscipline on our roads and even in our schools can be stopped. It will not take angels to do it. It will take you and me.
Patriotism goes beyond showing off your Ghana jersey. Patriotism is a responsibility. It is a duty to leave this nation better than you found it.
If your heart indeed bleeds for this country, prove it when it is time to make a decision that has ripple effects on others.
Your love for your motherland should uphold what is right and despise that which is wrong. If you love Ghana, keep her commandments.
Your first national jersey is your heart. It must hold the nation in high esteem. Your first Ghana flag is your mindset. In all its choices, it must think about posterity. Before you build in a waterway, think about other Ghanaians who would suffer when it floods.
Think about the victims of abuse before you allow yourself to be bought by abusers. Patriotism always considers others first.
If we have the right heart and mindset essential to nation-building, our nation will be winning every day of the year.
Our daily wins will be enough to celebrate all year long. Patriotism is not in the jerseys we wear and the flags we hoist. It is in who we are when we take off the jerseys and flags.
Ghana faces Croatia this evening. It is not only an opportunity to grab our three points. It is another opportunity to remind ourselves that a nation can only go as far as its people desire for it to go.
If a nation of over 34 million people can vouch for 11 people to win, imagine how far we could go if the same number of millions vouch for each other to win, too.
If we win every match against our opponents and fail to win the match against our broken systems, have we truly won? All the best, Black Stars!
Kobina Ansah is the Chief Scribe of Scribe Productions (www.scribeproductions.com) and Scribe Communications (www.scribecommltd.com).
