World Cup Discussions in Social Media in Ghana: Black Stars and Mahama

While games are ongoing in Brazil and the very popular Ghanaian team, the Black Stars, are still in the game playing Portugal later today…they seem to lose the news cycle game every day to the Ghanaian president, John Dramani Mahama.

Black Narrator

The top issues have been so far:

1. Electricity and the World Cup.

What happened: For some time now, Ghana’s power supply has been erratic. Since mid-May, the country has experienced scheduled breaks in supply. Just before the world cup, the government came out to say electricity supply will be enough for all during the World Cup.

Public verdict: I haven’t seen one single positive comment to this intervention. Although Ghanaians LOVE soccer, it seems the public opinion would prefer electricity during working hours to be able to be productive…

2. Can you insult your president?

What happened:  Before the Germany game, the president Tweeted that he had talked to the players and encouraged them that they could take on the German team. The issue quickly became politicized and many wrote angry comments to the post.

Public verdict: Here my social media friends seemed to be split between those who thought the president have more important things to do than talk strategy with fotball players and those who found the intervention worthwhile. Many however stressed that a president is president for the nation and should not be insulted.

3. Appearance fee sent by plane.

What happened: The Black Stars had been promised an appearance fee that did not come and the team expressed disappointment. Next we knew, a plane left Ghana with the appearance fee of USD 75000 for each player – (“incredibly”, says the Guardian) in cash.

Public verdict: Questions galore! Why should the team hold a poor country to ransom? How could the government prioritize this, when key functions in the country are down? (fuel crisis and owing money to school feeding programs, health professionals etc.) Why was the money sent in a plane with cash and not wired into accounts? Many were also embarrassed to see international media discuss the issue.

It seems politics and fotball intersect once again! To discuss these issues and others surrounding the World Cup, BloggingGhana’s project InformGhana will be running a Twitter discussion today between 1-3 PM Ghana time. 

 Follow @informGhana on Twitter and chip in with the hashtag #Sports4Dev

 

 

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African Authors and Books in Gothenburg – Afrika2010

The annual Swedish book fair in Gothenburg this year has an Africa theme!

With the name Afrika2010, some 50(?) writers from 36 countries, a couple of hundred seminars and probably thousands and again thousands of book titles, the fair is opening on the 23rd September and lasting until the 26th.

“There is a strong interest in Africa right now, not at least thanks to the World Cup in South Africa in June. With the Africa focus of this year’s Book Fair, we will put the African literary scene in the lime light. Many new and already established writers and cultural workers will provide a more complex picture of this exciting continent”, says Carin Norberg, head of the Nordic Africa Institute which together with SIDA is supporting the thematic focus on Africa at the Bok&Bibliotek book fair.

Participants from Ghana includes: Akoss Ofori-Mensah (Sub-Saharan Publishers) and writers Yaba Badoe (True Murder came out last year) and  Meshack Asare (many childrens’ books including Children of the Tree).

I will very sadly not be able to make it to Afrika2010, but will be following this glorious event bringing together the African continent and its literature, likely reporting in this space. Oh, and I just saw one of my favorite artists, Dobet Gnahore is opening the fair!

The only comfort I have is that it seems Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun) is , just like me, too busy around this time to come to the Afrika2010 book fair in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Which African writer would have made you reschedule your plans and go to Gothenburg?

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After World Cup What Is There for Ghana?

I got this very poignant comment on my last post from fellow blogger AntiRhythm:

And that, Kajsa, is all there really is about it. The only prize in participation is not to win. When the best in the world turned up, Africa was there. And for a long time, we competed well. We were in the final 8. We were 1 kick from the final 4. Being number 1 in the football world would have had only limited (emotional) benefits. Now, let us compete favourably with the rest of the world in:

Ending poverty;
Growing our economies;
Deepening democratic values;
Restructuring education to ensure real social development;
Fighting health scourges, especially Malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB;
Eradicating neo-geopolitics (ethnocentricism)
Harnessing the powers Information Technology to accelerate development, etc.

I could not have said it better myself. All in all, there is a lot to do also after the World Cup in South Africa is over.

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Good Losers – Ghana Exits the World Cup

After the devastating last minutes of the game and penalty series, Facebook and Twitter explodes. So many messages, surprisingly to me, messages of unity and good will. Here are some examples:

“Please, tonight is not a night for tears. GhAfrica’s Black Stars bowed out GRACEFULLY!”

“Oh! asamoah…but welldone guys!”

“My head is still up! Proudly Ghanaian! Well done Black STARS!”

“THAT WAS A GREAT RIDE! THANK YOU SOUTH AFRICA, THANK YOU AFRICA.”

“If there is anything like team of the tournament (like there is man of the match), I think it should go to the Blackstars”

“I stand proud. Whatever happens”

Also, for the first time ever, Ghana is a trending topic on Twitter along with Asamoah Gyan

Say what you want on Ghana and the Black Stars, but sore losers we are not!


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Ghana World Cup Winning Videos

While I wait for the World Cup game tonight, Ghana-Uruguay, I have found these two videos to get into the (winning) mood.

1. Y? da mo ase

Ghana Black Stars! • y? da mo ase (Thank you) from MVMT on Vimeo.

2. Black Stars Dancing

I never saw myself as a fotball fan, but I suprised myself by adding a Twibbon, a little Ghanaian flag, to my Twitter icon in support.

Go, black stars, GO!

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Ghana Scores Serbia

An hour ago the news reached me in Sweden that Ghana scored favorites (?) Serbia in the opening game for the Ghanaian Black Stars in the South Africa FIFA World Cup. Wohoo! Go Ghana!

In my room in Sweden I imagined the celebrations going on all over the crazy fotball nation that is Ghana and was lucky enough to stumble across the lovely and vivid pics on fellow Ghanablogging blogger Nana Kofi’s photo blog.

Pic of teary eyed Black Stars fan borrowed from Nana Kofi Acquah’s post on the Ghana vs Serbia celebrations in Accra.

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>Swedish Coach to Super Eagles

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What is with me? I am really no sports fan and now a second post on sports already this week?

Anyways, Swedish coach Lars Lagerbäck has signed with the Nigerian national team the Super Eagles (or Super Chickens as they were called after being defeated by Ghanaian national team Black Stars in the African cup recently). Hopefully, Lagerbäck will make the team come together to perform better in the World Cup in South Africa in June.

This will be interesting to follow.

Pic borrowed here.

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