Let’s support Black Stars to deliver
From this evening till July 19, the attention of the African continent and the footballing world will be fixated on the 32nd edition of the AFCON being staged in Egypt, where 24 teams are vying for the coveted trophy. Cameroun won the 31st edition in Gabon two years ago.
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The tournament was originally set to be hosted by Cameroun, but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) late last year took the host rights from the Central African country and last January confirmed Egypt as new hosts.
Despite the short notice, organisers have allayed all fears and given an assurance that “it will be one of the best tournaments in recent times”.
Not only has the number of participating teams increased from 16 to 24; the tournament schedule has also been changed from the January-February timing to June-July as part of the reforms CAF is undertaking to bring events in sync with the international calendar on football.
With the teams increased, there is no doubt that it will now be much more difficult to win the trophy than it was in the previous tournaments which had 16 teams, as there will now be seven matches to be played from the group stages to the final, instead of six.
Among the 24 teams, the continent’s heavyweights — Egypt (seven-time champions), Cameroun (five times), Ghana (four times champions) and Nigeria (three times) — are all in there, seeking to be champions again.
There are also Cote d’Ivoire (two-time champions), Zambia, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco seeking to win to improve on their record of being one-time champions, just as there are the dark horses who will also try to win for the first time.
For us in Ghana, it is another time to rally support for our team, the Black Stars, as they seek to end the nation’s 37-year wait to savour AFCON glory for the fifth time.
Having being champions in 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982, it has been a long wait for the Black Stars for another victory and the level of expectation remains high, given how close the Stars have been to winning it in recent times.
Between the 2008 and 2017 AFCON tournaments, the Stars have been so close to lifting the trophy, but their efforts have always ended in disappointment, as they lost the finals at the 2010 and the 2015 events, as well as being among the top four at other times.
The 23-man squad named by Coach James Kwasi Appiah has arrived in Ismailia, where the Group F campaign will take place with matches against Benin (June 25), Cameroun (June 29) and Guinea Bissau (July 2).
The Daily Graphic is happy that there is complete calm and unity in the camp of the Stars after the furore over the captaincy and the budget for their preparation and campaign.
Andre Dede Ayew, who led the national Under-20 side, the Black Satellites, to world glory, incidentally in Egypt, in 2009, has taken over the captaincy from Asamoah Gyan, who is now the General Captain, with Kwadwo Asamoah as the deputy captain.
While there have been changes in the leadership, the focus of the team remains the same — to win the AFCON diadem, which has eluded the team for 37 long years.
As the Stars begin their campaign, the Daily Graphic urges all Ghanaians to rally their support for the team through prayers and also ‘rep’ the national colours during the tournament. It may not have been on time, but it is not too late for us to hoist the national flag in our offices, homes and on cars — all in support of the team.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, led the way when he hosted the Stars at the Jubilee House in a farewell dinner and urged them to work hard to deliver the title. It is the turn of every Ghanaian to also show support and encourage the team to deliver.
As is being touted in most football conversations around the country, 2019 should be the Year of Return of the AFCON trophy.