Akufo-Addo sends a message to Black Stars
Read full articleDemands that the team returns with Ghana's fourth AFCON trophy
Black Stars begin campaign today against Morocco
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday, January 9, 2022, sent a message to the Black Stars 24-hours to the kickoff of their campaign at the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The President's message relayed via his Facebook post was a mix of history, motivation and good wishes to Andre Dede Ayew and the playing body, Milovan Rajevac and the technical team and the team's management body.
The crust of the message was for the team to execute one task and only one - to go a step further than they did in 1992, 2010 and 2015, when they lost in the finals - by bringing the trophy back home.
Read full text of Akufo-Addo's address
On the eve of the commencement in Cameroon of the 2021 African Cup of Nations Championship, I send wishes from all Ghanaians to you, the playing, technical and management teams of the senior national soccer side, the Black Stars.
We are all happy that finally the AFCON 2021 tournament which was postponed from last year is now going to be held, the Coronavirus pandemic notwithstanding.
Like any other edition of AFCON, the Ghanaian people demand nothing short of ultimate glory from the stars. The pressure to succeed is understandably high because of our status as four-time winners and also because it has been 40 long years since we last lifted the trophy. The target for you naturally is to bring the cup home.
We have to go a step further than the second places recorded in 1992, 2010 and 2015 and bring the 40-year drought to an end. The task may be daunting but it is certainly not insurmountable. I believe that in the current crop of players, we have the talent to match any of the best teams on the continent.
The Ghana team has been penciled down as one of the favourites of the tournament because of its sheer quality, let us work to bring the prediction to fruition.
You the current crop wear the jersey of the Black Stars, the same jersey worn by Ghanaian legends such as Addo Damptey, Ben Simons, Aggrey-Fynn, Wilberforce Nfum, Edward Acquah, Mohammed Salisu, the non-pareille Baba Yara, Abdul Razak, Opoku Nti and Francis Kumi.
Wear it with pride, wear it with determination, be of one mind and spirit and be united on or off the pitch. Whether you are in the starting 11 chosen by coach Milovan Rajevac or not, you owe it a duty to back and support wholeheartedly your teammates representing the nation on the field, that is how a fifth Afcon trophy for mother Ghana can be achieved.
To you, my fellow Ghanaians, now more than ever is the time to throw our unwavering support behind the team, yes I’m aware that there are 30 million coaches in Ghana, however, in this age of social media, we cannot allow any form of pessimism especially in our comments to filter through to the team.
We cannot directly or indirectly afford to break their morale. In the highs and lows, in good or bad times we must show the team that we are Ghanaians and we look out for each other no matter what.
We can make the Black Stars a force to reckon with once again on the continent and on world football beginning with this tournament.
Go for gold, go for the fifth AFCON trophy, we can do it, I know we can. May God bless the Black Stars and us all. And may God bless our homeland Ghana and make her great and strong.
I thank you for your attention, I pray that we and the Black Stars have a great tournament.
Black Stars kick start campaign today
The Black Stars arrived in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde on Saturday, flying in from their training camp in Doha Qatar.
They will play Morocco in their first game on today, 10 January. The team will also play Gabon and Comoros with the hope of qualifying to the round of 16th stage of the competition.