By Abraham Donkor<\/p>\n
Football has undoubtedly been the nation\u2019s passion for a long period. It has on several occasions forged temporary alliances between political opponents and brought relief to many fans especially when the national teams or clubs annex trophies.<\/p>\n
The Senior National Football Team, the Black Stars, the National Under 23 team the Black Metors, the Under 17 team, the Black Starlets and indeed Clubs like Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Accra Hearts Oak and Ashanti Gold have all brought joyous moments into the nation following their exploits in Africa and the world. These feats notwithstanding, there have also been some heartaches associated with the game, especially in recent years. After the Dede Ayew led under 20 team annexed the World Cup in Egypt in 2009, which was climaxed by a sterling performance by the Black Stars in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and subsequent appearances in the finals of 2010 and 2015 AFCONS, little could be said about the achievements of the National teams. The fortunes of the Black Stars witnessed a decline after the 2014 World Cup fiasco which led to the setting up of the Justice Dzamefe Commission of Inquiry that made a number of recommendations. It must also be noted that most Ghanaians for some years now have lost interest in anything synonymous with the BalckStars.<\/p>\n
The Love for the team has sunk to its lowest ebb. The situation worsened with the revelations of Ace Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anasof Tiger IPI fame. Following the exit of the Normalisation Committee, the Kurt EK Okraku administration took over the reins of the Ghana Football Association, GFA.In its bid to reunite Ghanaians with football, the GFA coined the mantra \u2018 bring back the love\u2019.Try as the administration could, the recent abysmal performance of the Black Stars at the ongoing AFCON in Cameroon has dealt the cause a huge setback.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Ghana\u2019s early exit from the tournament is the worst performance by the Black Stars in the history of the tournament, returning home with only one point and finished last in Group C. Ghanaians will have to wait for some more years to end the AFCON trophy drought which currently stands at 40 years in the football wilderness.<\/p>\n