It is difficult to come across articles online which do not sound bias, political moved or tribally pushed as far as the Ghanaian Media is concern.
I have read an interesting piece of article by Adu Mensah and the points he raises are very matured and worth discussion.
Adu Mensah has brought my mind to the need for us as Ghanaians especially the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to fully throw some kind of special welcoming party for Kevin Prince Boateng as he comes down to Ghana to play his first International match on the “soils” of Ghana.
Indeed, the step Kevin took was a brave and gigiantic one. Choosing between playing for Germany, a place he had known almost all his life and Ghana, a third world country struggling to gain football recognition would have been difficult for him as well as any of us.
I am not sure how many of us would have gone for Ghana instead of Germany. He pushed for Ghana and has been a great player in our team. He deserves some party as he comes home to play. I am not saying he is better than any of the players but for the step he took, he deserves “something”….
Read the article below and share your mind…
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“… It was 13th January 1991 at Kumasi, and we won 4-0. Two minutes from the end, the coach took me off so the crowd could give me a standing ovation. I got hold of a national flag and did a lap of honor. Ever since, a shiver runs down my spine whenever I hear my country’s national anthem…”
These were the words of Anthony Baffoe, a former player and one time captain of the Black Stars, born and raised, considered a ‘nobody’ by racial standards in Germany, the second black man after Ibrahim Sunday to play in the German Bundesliga, recounting how he felt when Ghanaians gave him the most emotional and special moment of his football career.
Ghanaian’s who were witnesses to the Anthony Baffoe ‘baptism’ or welcome ceremony at the Kumasi Sports Stadium in 1991 will agree with me that he remained one of the most committed foreign based players to the cause of the national team, and till date is contributing his quota to the development of soccer in Ghana.
Kevin-Prince Boateng is another returnee whose strength, skill, and commitment to the game contributed immensely to the cause of the Black Stars at the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup. His attributes as a footballer is something we must not under any circumstances loose, and that is why when the team returned from the World Cup, one expected a special welcome for him, especially since that was his first time in Ghana, his fatherland.
I therefore suggest that when the Black Stars play Sudan on October 10th, which would be his first match on home soil, the GFA should organize a befitting ‘baptism’ or welcome for Kevin. One that will make him feel hundred per cent Ghanaian so that he would never turn his back on the national team when he is needed most like some players do.
Thanks to Anthony Baffoe, I am confident that such a ‘baptism’ for Kevin Prince Boateng will have an impact on the player’s commitment to the Black Stars.
Article by Philip Adu-Mensah
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