Thousands of Ghanaian at the Kotoka International Airport to welcome the heroes
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Gallant members of the senior national team, the Black Stars yesterday arrived from Luanda, Angola to a thunderous cheers and applause from hundreds of waving Ghanaians fans that thronged the Kotoka International Airport to welcome their heroes home.
The Linhas Aereas de Angola chartered flight carrying the team and its officials as well some journalists touched down on Ghanaian soil at exactly 19:07.
A high-powered delegation led by the newly-appointed minister of Youth and Sports, Ms. Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Agric, Kwesi Ahwoi, Mr. Konjo Bonsu, Chairman of the National Sports Council Board, Mr. Charles James Ayeh, chief sport development officer at the Ministery of Youth and Sports, Mr. Ade Coker at the office of the President, among others, were on hand to welcome home the players and their technical team, led by outgoing Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdul Rashid Pelpuo, Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac and his lieutenants after their heroic achievement in Angola.
The Minister lauded the management and head coach of the team for a good job that had made the entire nation proud. Ms Sena Dansua noted that she was particularly impressed by the performance of the boys especially after going down in the opening game 1-3 to the Elephants of La Cote d’Ivoire.
She urged the players not to rest on their laurels but to train hard and gird their loins for greater battles, especially the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. Five hours to the arrival of the team, scores of Ghana supporters drawn from the various supporters unions as well as fan clubs of some of the players had already thronged the tarmac of the Kotoka Airport amidst drumming, dancing and singing to the glory of the team.
The Stars last Sunday earned the runners up spot at the just-ended 27th edition of the Africa’s flagship soccer event, the Cup of Nations in Angola, when they fell to an 85th minute goal from substitute “Gedo” Nagui’s goal of Egypt in the finals of the November 11 stadium in Luanda.
The entirely young Black Stars showed a lot of character and resilience in the tournament and proved critics wrong, going as far as the finals, a feat that was last achieved 18 years ago. Many soccer fans the Ghanaian the Times spoke to at the airport were of the view that the team should be maintained with just a few additions to it for the world Cup scheduled to kick off in South Africa come June 1 this year.
