Former Ghana captain Kofi Pare has urged the Black Stars to show commitment if they are to end the nation’s 36-year trophy drought.
The West African giants last tasted glory in the Africa Cup of Nation in 1983 when defied all odds to beat host nation Libya 7-6 on penalty shootout.
Since winning its fourth AFCON title in 1982, Ghana has struggled to refresh its trophy cabinet with another trophy.
The quest to clinch a fifth trophy has proven elusive despite making it to the semi-finals of the continent’s biggest football competition six times in the last ten years.
As today marks exactly 53 years since the Black Stars won their second African Cup, Kofi Pare who captained the side to win the coveted trophy, recounted those memorable days and implored the team to emulate their commitment level to end the long search for trophy glory during an interview with Ohene Bampoe-Brenya on Happy FM‘s Anopa Bosuo Sports.
“We went into the tournament ready to lift the flag of Ghana high. Kwame Nkrumah in 1963 promised us a two bedroom apartment for winning the cup,” Opare said on Happy FM.
“He couldn’t deliver on his promise because things were hard then but he urged us to win the competition again in 1965 so he doubled the prize. That was also not delivered to us although we were recently given something small.”
Kofi Pare holds the enviable record of being the only Ghana international to have scored the most goals in a single match after hitting six in the Black Stars 13-0 against Kenya in 1965.
He was a member of the Black Stars team that won the AFCON in 1963 and 1965.
By: Ibrahim Zibrilla
