The proverbial Tamale hospitality was extended to the Black Stars by hundreds of soccer-loving fans who thronged the Tamale Airport yesterday to welcome the team to the city.
After waiting for several hours, the fans who included members of various fan clubs of the players, notably the Ayew Brothers, Wakaso, Waris, Kwadwo Asamoah, went ecstatic when the chartered plane carrying the team eventually touched down at about 2:30 p.m.
The fans drummed and danced to popular songs and also mentioned the names of their idol players as they alighted from the plane one after the other.
This demonstration of love was reciprocated by the players led by their captain, who drew closer to the fans to wave back at them.
Later in an interview, the captain assured the fans of their preparedness to beat the visiting Guinean team, the Syli Nationale, to seal their qualification for the AFCON 2015.
He described their performance in Morocco last Saturday as a fairly balanced and difficult match, “but at the end of the day we were able to push through a draw.”
He expressed appreciation to the fans for the warm reception accorded them on their arrival and promised to snatch all three maximum points tomorrow.
Both Andre Ayew and Mubarak Wakaso also expressed delight at the decision by the GFA to honour the return match in Tamale since it would offer them the opportunity to get closer to their teeming fans in the area.
This is the first time in recent memory that the Stars will be playing a competitive game in the Northern Regional capital.
Fans
A former player and a management member of the Black Princesses, Alhaji Karim Starboy, described the hosting of the match in the Tamale Sports Stadium as a homecoming for the stars and that anything short of victory would put the team’s chances of participating in the 2015 AFCON in jeopardy.
The chairman of the Waris Fan club, Alhaji Mutala Bello, said they were there to show their love for their national team and their idol, Warris, who was going to play on his home soil for the first time.
Abass Bawa, the chairman of Young Meteors, a colts team, said they could not wait to see the Black Stars play their first competitive match in Tamale and pledged their massive support for the team to ensure victory.
Officials
The Northern Regional Football Association (RFA) vice chairman, Mr Mohammed Bako Alhassan, said it was their prayer that nothing untoward would happen but a win to brighten the chances of the Black Stars to participate in the AFCON 2015.
Mr. Alhassan added that support always played a crucial role in soccer and, therefore, called on residents and all football fans to be at the stadium in their numbers to support the team to record victory.
He said five of the Black Stars players had their roots in Tamale, hence they saw the hosting of the match in Tamale as homecoming.
Mr Alhassan mentioned Abdul Majeed Waris, Mubarak Wakaso, Abdul Rahman and the Ayew Brothers as the five players who would be playing on their home soil for the first time.
Security
The Northern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the command would deploy 100 policemen at the stadium to maintain law and order. He added that the military would also be on standby for any eventuality.
He said the Tamale stadium has a capacity for 20,000 fans and that for “security purposes we would not allow more than the specific number of fans into the stadium.”
ASP Tetteh also indicated that his outfit was on top of security in the events leading to the match and its aftermath and, therefore, assured players and fans of adequate security.
Background
Ghana laboured to a 1-1 draw against their opponents in Casablanca last Saturday and will be anxious to amass maximum points in front of their home fans.
There are no injury concerns for the team but caretaker coach Maxwell Konadu will surely be worried about his shaky defence ahead of tomorrow’s return encounter.
The team looked defensively weak against a determined Syli Nationale, especially in the second half of the match in Morocco, and, therefore, will have to improve on their game to strengthen their position on top of the log in their group
Ghana is atop of the group ahead of the remaining three games in the group.
