President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is optimistic that Ghana will become the first African country to win the FIFA World Cup at this year’s tournament in Qatar.
“We (Ghana) who were the first to gain our freedom and independence from colonial rule will be the first to bring the FIFA World Cup to Africa,” President Nana Akufo-Addo stated.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei Opare at a dinner as part of a two-day tour by the World Cup trophy in the country, the President said, “I am of the firm conviction that Ghana will not only participate in the competition but will make the whole nation and by extension the African continent proud, with a great performance.”
“I, therefore, want to urge all Ghanaians, in conclusion, to throng the Accra Polo Court to view the trophy and to be part of history, before we finally bring the cup home on December 18.
“We, who were the first to gain our freedom and independence from colonial rule, will be the first to bring the World Cup to Africa,” he stated.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghanaians had waited for 12 years to be in the same group with Uruguay and is confident the Black Stars will avenge the painful loss to the Uruguayans.
Citing Luis Suarez’s hand ball which denied Ghana a place in the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup in Brazil, he said the Uruguayans will be defeated by the Black Stars this time round.
He said: “We have also had to wait for twelve (12) years to get revenge against Uruguay, and we assure them that, this time, the hand of Suarez will not save them against the Black Stars of Ghana. They are going down!!”.
“The trophy will come back to Ghana”- Minister of Youth and Sports.
Siding with the President, Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Mustapha Ussif also expressed confidence that the Black Stars of Ghana will excel at the 2022 FIFA World Cup to win the coveted trophy for the first time for Africa.
Addressing a media conference to welcome the trophy to Ghana, the Minister was hopeful Ghana can clinch the envied trophy.
He was happy that Ghana is the first country among the five African countries that qualified for the tournament to host the trophy tour.
According to him, Ghana has set up plans and once executed, the country believe the team will shine in Qatar.
“For now we can only see the trophy and we want to touch and feel it by winning the World Cup. We have a young team and I believe in them,” Mr. Ussif said.
President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr. Kurt Okraku assured that the Black Stars will be competitive and ready for the quadrennial tournament, saying, “We will show the world (We are Ghana)”.
He appealed to Ghanaians to rally their unflinching support behind the team to achieve success at the Mundial.
The GFA President reiterated that Ghana will be ready and competitive at the World Cup, adding that, the Black Stars are determined to rewrite history.
The World Cup trophy arrived on Saturday, September 3, 2022 for a two-day tour in the capital, and Ghana is the first Africa country to host the trophy ahead of Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, and Tunisia.
The tour is to offer fans the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the glittering coveted trophy that would be battled for by 32 countries at the world cup.
The trophy was brought to Ghana by the Ambassador of Coca Cola and former FIFA World Cup winner David Trezeguet, officials from FIFA and headline sponsor Coca Cola.
The team was met on arrival by the Minister of Youth and Sports Mustapha Ussif , Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku and Prof. Peter Twumasi, Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA).
The 18-karate gold trophy arrived on Saturday morning at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra under tight security.
The trophy will be displayed at the Accra Polo grounds on Sunday September 4, 2022 for fans to seize the opportunity to take photos with the original trophy.
Ghana’s Black Stars are scheduled to play Portugal on November 24, South Korea (November 28) and Uruguay (December 2) in Group H of the World Cup.
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