This has been an exciting year for football in Ghana. The Ghanaian Black Stars qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, which is just like the World Cup but with only teams from Africa. Football in Ghana is HUGE!! We get reminded all the time that Ghana has beat the US in the past two world cups.
When Ghana played during the tournament there was not much else going on. Most of the country was captivated by the games. Even if you weren’t watching the game you could tell if Ghana scored. You could hear the screams everywhere you went.
Even in our village with no electricity, people were still able to watch the game with the aid of a TV hooked to a generator. One store in town would put up a curtain made of sewn rice sacks and charge people 30 pesewas (about 15 cents) to watch the games. Inside the curtain was a TV that sat on a rusted barrel and about 7 row of wooden benches. The entire area was about the size of a small bedroom. About 50 to 60 people crammed in the small area. I watched three games this way, it was hot and cramped but it was a blast. The most surreal experience I had was during a match that started right at the 6 O’Clock prayer time. I saw women carrying buckets of water on there heads and people praying in the outside prayer area, while people inside the curtain were screaming at the TV.
Ghana entered the tournament as one of the favorites to win the whole thing. They played well during the group stage, and advanced to the knockout stage with one draw and two victories. We watched the quarter final match against Libya at a sports bar in Tamale with some fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. It was a great time! Ghana won 2-1 in extra time with the winning goal coming just before the penalty shootout. Every time Ghana scored the bar would blare the music and the bar transformed in to a dance party. Every Ghanaian would dance around until the game started back. This was especially true after the game ended. The dance party was not only in the bar but throughout Tamale. People were literally dancing in the streets, so much so that it stopped traffic on the main road in Tamale. It got pretty crazy outside, so we just stayed at the bar and ended up watching the Super Bowl until 3 am.
Sadly Ghana lost in the semifinals against Zambia, who ended up beating Ivory Coast in the Championship.
Scott and our friend Chelsea cheering on Ghana.
A celebratory dance party after Ghana scored.
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