Football is BIG in Ghana

  One of the greatest advantages of loving football is you can engage in a conversation on the topic with practically anyone who shares interest, regardless of origin or the team each one supports. Football was big on TV screens along my 1-week stay in Ghana, was big on Open Access Africa 2011 Conference breaks and was the topic of one of the best conversations I had along my stay, on Ghanaian football teams role along the African Champions League competition (Ghana has sustainedly been one of the best African national teams for quite some time now).

You may be surprised to find blackboards among the shantytown houses by the road announcing Chelsea-Arsenal being broadcasted at the local 'New Wembley' joint that afternoon. Or the whole Spanish Liga schedule for the day. But that's only the first few times you see it. Then you get used to it all. The cheering coming out of bars at Premier League match time (and not just from blockbuster games: Sunderland-Aston Villa will do as well). The hotel manager watching an Atletico Madrid-Zaragoza game late at night. T-shirts from all conceivable teams and players being worn by young and old people all around town. Borussia Dortmund flag flying high at the top end of a ship pole among dozens of national -mainly African- flags in Elmina (actually hand-made rags so that the English flag will rather look like the Red Cross one). Football is a true religion in this country (and then I suddenly remember this UAE taxi driver telling me last year in Dubai that "football was too much of a passion" in his country).

Nigerian attendees to the Conference making up over 80% of the total number, coffee breaks where a great chance for trying to find out the causes for the national football squad demise in international tournaments since that unforgettable U.S.-held World Cup back in '94. After independently talking to a couple of them, they agreed it was due to politics and football mismanagement in the country. One of them did also incidentally inform me he considered Jose Mourinho to be the best coach in the world, "a mathematician in his way of performing game analysis".

Finally, there was this delightful conversation on African football along wich I learned quite a lot of things (not much of an expert myself anyway). First, on the North African teams winning most recent editions of the African Champions League "because they have the money and will snatch the best West African players" (sound familiar?). Or on the best teams in Ghana, Kumasi Asante and Accra Hearts of Oak having each of them won this very Cup (even a couple of times in the case of the former). Or on the tricks for featuring much older players as U21 representatives (not in Ghana, though, "that's the Nigerian". Alright). Was having a look at the African Champions League historical records after the conversation and they are truly interesting (quite a number of countries featured on the top places including Sudan or Zimbabwe). And this year's final first leg will be taking place in four days time, on Nov 6th between Moroccan Wydad Casablanca and Tunisian Espérance ST. Wow.