Delayed gratification is the best…..Ghana has paid it ‘dues’ –we will win next time….

I woke up this morning feeling like I had an elephant sitting on top of me, or even worse, –like I had been in a car crash, –in some sort of nightmare, -only to have last night come tumbling back at me in all its ‘emotional-ups-and-downs’ Asem! I remember my Jojo crying hysterically as we lost the ‘beautiful game’, -and the scenes from Oxford Street, Ghana –where our brothers had stopped celebrating, with many women [now] on their knees [exactly where I was –on my knees] and the images coming in -loud and clear from Montevideo [the capital of Uruguay], -where the Uruguayans were celebrating –naturally!

Fast-forward a couple of hours [and a few minutes in prayer –I promise to do much better tonight -Father God] and its just dawned on me that there’s a bigger picture [being painted here folks] –Amen, and what our boys were doing, -was paying their 'dues' [paying Ghana’s dues] –and we will win -next time folks. Because how spiritual was that match? We [and the rest of the world] saw just how hard our boys played [fought] –but for some unfathomable reason, –missing out! That penalty after we tried and tried to get ‘that’ ball into the goal –only to find it hitting the goal post after our Asamoah Gyan [a prolific scorer] just missed [stops to catch breathe] -was soo surreal! Our Prince Boateng also had one-failed-attempt-after another –when you and I both know that many of ‘those’ balls were destined for the goal! So what happened? Great lessons for another day/another World Cup –that’s what happened! Because many of us will certainly know what its like to be in a place [where you can see the finish line] –where you push and push and push; try and try and try –only to see it [seemly] slipping away from you –and the pain involved [too painful to comprehended]. Only to let it go –and for it to come back to you –and for you to win it/get it/achieve it etc –the second, third, tenth or twentieth time around –with such ease, grace and beauty etc –leaving you wondering why you had fought soo hard, been so afraid, or tried sooo hard before? God’s timing in these situations -is best and it also helps if you step away from the situation and see the bigger picture!

I remember [also] being upset with the commentators –because they [tended to give –in my books] quite a bit of respect to the Cameroonians, Nigerians and the Ivorians but didn’t show us that same level of respect [calling our men –boys, -and yes they are young but so what? It’s these same boys that will come back as men and win the cup for Ghana -next time!] until we -showed them [game-after-game] that we were [and are] a force to be reckoned with, –and watched, as one-by- one these great(?) teams [Cameroon, Nigeria and Ivory Coast] went out, -leaving us still in the game, and thus next time around, -we too will/should be given the same level of respect [if not more] as [an African] nation/force to be reckoned with! Also, even though these same commentators refused to acknowledge that four years ago -we were also the only African nation left in the game/World Cup [that we beat some of the so called big ‘football nations’ and the USA –then as now] –and have advanced much further, -they will have to acknowledge –next time, -that we too are a great team, –a great football nation [because we have paid our 'dues', earned our stripes as-it-were……Rome was not built in a day etc] -who can and will win the beautiful game/World Cup –next time [so help us God]!

A big thanks to the Black stars and their coach, –they have done us proud! I can’t wait to see some of our younger players in big premiership clubs......I see our Prince Boateng at Chelsea or Manchester United –don’t you? xx

Sports: Kevin Prince Boateng & Adam Kwarasey to switch nationalities –and play for Ghana at World Cup 2010

Kevin Prince Boateng

Adam Kwarasey

**I won’t pretend for a second that I know anything about football, all I know is that the two brothers in question -Kevin Prince Boateng and Adam Kwarasey are gorgeous and they want to play for Ghana’s national team in the world Cup [and that’s fine with me]. The following is a more information about said footballers –and the upcoming World Cup from: http://www.ghanasoccernet.com/.

Title: Fifa set to approve Boateng to play for Ghana at World Cup
Date: Thursday, 22nd April 2010

Fifa is expected to approve the nationality switch of Kevin Prince Boateng in the coming days as the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has finally produced documents to back the ex-Germany star’s nationality switch.

The world governing body has started investigating the issue to approve the player’s desire to play for the Black Stars at the World Cup and beyond, Ghanasoccernet can exclusively reveal.

But the nationality switch of Norway U21 goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey is still hanging by a thread as the documents required have still not been provided by the GFA.

Some members of the GFA vehemently denied a BBC report quoting Fifa last month that the extremely long delay in approving the nationality switches of the two players was because the federation did not provide all the documents needed for the approval.

Yet sneeringly, the GFA has now come up with the papers needed to approve Boateng’s quest to play for Ghana where his father hails from instead of Germany.

“The request from the Ghana Football Association concerning the player Boateng is now pending with FIFA and currently being investigated,” Fifa said in an exclusive statement to Ghanasoccernet.com.

This means if the player status committee sits within one month, the ex-Germany star will be approved to play for Ghana well in time for the World Cup which starts in South Africa on 11 June.

But the desperation of Kwarasey is expected to prolong as no papers have been provided for Fifa to clear him to compete for a place at the World Cup, Fifa told Ghanasoccernet.com.

“With respect to the player, Kwarasay, in summer 2009 the player personally contacted our services with regard to his possible change of association,” the Fifa statement read.

“However, since then no follow-up was ever received by the association concerned. As a result, there is no current pending case involving him, with FIFA.”

With the GFA delaying in providing the documents to back the goalkeeper’s switch, Ghana quest for a good replacement for Richard Kingson could be scuppered because of the GFA’s apparent lack of interest.

According to Fifa regulations on international switches, the player wishing to represent a new country must ONLY submit a written request to the world governing body seeking to player for another country.

But the federation the player wishes to represent must satisfy FOUR CONDITIONS including evidence of the player’s link to the country with a passport.

The GFA provided only a Boateng’s father’s birth certificate in its initial application which was rejected by Fifa on grounds that it does not prove his father is a Ghanaian.

Boateng’s father’s Ghanaian passport has now been provided which enabled the case to be opened by Fifa.

This means if the GFA had provided all the documents seven months ago when it applied for the switch, the Portsmouth start could have played for the Black Stars at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

This is because it took Mali only THREE WEEKS to secure ex-France U21 striker Mamadou Samassa switch to play for the West Africans.[Credit: www.ghanasoccernet.com]