When was the last time you engaged a young Ghanaian kid about anything sports or football in particular?
Well, the last time I did, I had a terrible experience.
I have spent the last few days combing around the beautiful city of Casablanca, a city so huge but noted for its beautiful French architecture and real estate boom, not to mention the glitz and glamour of a first-class city.
Football brought me here so I have been pretty much focused on the AFCON, and the passionate Moroccan football fan is excited about the team’s chances of winning the competition for only the second time.
For all the exploits of the Atlas Lions over the years, including that heroic World Cup run in Qatar, where they became the first African country to reach the semis of the Senior Men’s World Cup, they have won the continental showpiece only once in 1976.
The only other time they were close to winning the trophy was when they lost out to Tunisia in the final in 2004 at the Rades.
The passion demonstrated by all these young bloods when I have bumped into them is not lost on me.
However, there is a bigger conversation which goes way beyond Casablanca.
A couple of days ago, I found myself at one of several Wydad Athletic Club stores in a suburb called Racine.
I was impressed by the quality of items I saw there.
They were first class and surely hit the pocket hard. One of the biggest stars of Moroccan football, Hakim Ziyech, has signed to play for the club and his replica jerseys cost a mouthwatering 600 Moroccan Dirhams, the equivalent of 60 Euros.
That was high ,I thought. No, not really.
The Wydad fans were coming in thick and fast to buy them before the resumption of the league when the AFCON comes to an end. What caught my attention was the number of young kids who trooped in with their parents.
Mum or Dad was kind enough to buy at least one of several items on sale for them.
What further impressed me was the knowledge of these young kids about their current squad.
I engaged a 9-year-old called Yahia who spoke in perfect English.
The Moroccans primarily speak French and Arabic. He knew the entire squad by heart.
When he found out that I was Ghanaian, he was quick let me know that WAC were in Ghana a couple of months ago to play Asante Kotoko in the CAF Confederations Cup and how they beat the Reds by a lone goal in Accra before the hammering at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.
And there were other kids and teens who get into the conversation as well.
My mind went racing because I thought about Ghana and the interests of the Ghanaian Child in the local game.
I have had the privilege of going to 5 of the 6 host cities of the AFCON, that’s Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca, Fes and Marrakech. Everywhere I went, I realised that the locals were also keen on their hometown clubs beyond the national team.
In my country, Ghana, a worrying trend is fast developing, and I honestly do not know how that’s going to be curbed.
In my line of work over the years, practising sports journalism and more, the majority of the kids in Ghana today pay very little attention to the local game.
They barely know the clubs and appear to be fixated with the international game.
They are very familiar with the Arsenal, the Man United, The Cities, Barcelona, Real Madrid.
Name them.
They roll the names of these players off their lips with so much ease. Why is there very little interest in the local game?.
My nephews know the Kotoko’s, Hearts of Oak and in recent times Legon Cities due to my ties with the club.
They barely know the players of these clubs.
They love the sport, but it’s tough to get them pay attention to anything Ghana football beyond the Black Stars. One painfully told me it’s not a pleasant watch on TV.
Growing up as a little kid, my passionate football dad got me into football really quickly.
At six years old, I knew a thing or two as he introduced me and my siblings to reading newspapers and the many sports magazines he brought home. His love for Kotoko was unmatched. It was only a matter of time before we ended up on the pitch with several colt’s clubs and knowledge of the sport.
I was already familiar with the top European clubs and their players (I took to Milan, Marseille, Barcelona and Arsenal) and I knew their players by heart before I was ten, but my interest in the local game never waned.
I still passionately followed Kotoko in the league and their several forays in Continental club football on the radio and television.
I remember how I sneaked out of class on a Friday as an 11-year-old to see the final of the African Clubs Champions between the Reds and Zamalek in Cairo.
GTV carried the game live on TV.
The pain when Kotoko lost on pens when Agyemang Duah had the opportunity to win the game with the 5th penalty kick for Kotoko would leave with me forever.
Today, the kids are not going to the stadium, they are not watching the local games and have very little interest in the Ghana Premier League. I just wonder what the situation would be in another twenty years.
Maybe it’s exposure, may be its marketing. Maybe it’s a case of very few role models to tag along with.
If we really want the next generation to value the local football product, we may have to intentionally tell our stories, support the local game in any way possible and make the product a lot more visible.
Culture does not disappear overnight.
It fades when we stop passing it on.
At this point, it is gradually fading with very little interest from the current generation. Let’s watch it.
-Kwame Dwomoh-Agyemang is a Communications Professional and Broadcaster with the Class Media Group in Ghana.
