The President of the republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama had given an earlier indication that government would give support to the Ghanaian communities abroad to help rally support behind the Black Stars during the tournament.
According to the president’s acknowledgement, he however stressed that the state would not be able to fully fund large travelling supporter groups from Ghana due to financial constraints.
The president’s positions on the inability to fully fund large travelling groups call for intense diaspora support, placing diaspora engagement in the tournaments even more important.
Ghanaian communities already based in North America are expected to provide much of the vocal backing for the Black Stars, especially in venues where travel costs will be lower compared with supporters coming directly from Ghana.
The Black Stars’ opening match against Panama will be closely watched, not because it begins Ghana’s World Cup campaign, but also because a strong start could possibly shape the team’s qualification prospects from the group.
For supporters in Canada, the rush for tickets reflects both national pride and the emotional pull of seeing Ghana compete on football’s biggest stage, while with the High Commission, its immediate task is proper coordination through proper management of public expectations, communicating any ticket allocation clearly and ensure that any distribution process is orderly, transparent and fair.
On the side of the Sports Ministry, the scale of interest and preference should serve as a reminder of the power of the Ghanaian diaspora in global football mobilisation.
The current demand of more than 50,000 ticket requests show that the Black Stars remain a powerful national brand and capable of drawing massive emotional investment from Ghanaians at home and abroad.
As the countdown to June 17 draws near, one thing is already clear: Ghana may not yet know how many tickets it will receive for the Panama clash, however, the Black Stars will not be short of support in Canada.
Go, Black Stars Go!!!
Story By Martha Seyram Jackson || Metro Digital
