Ghana has been four times a winner of the Africa Cup of Nations. It is known worldwide as one of Africa’s foremost sporting nations. Asante Kotoka in Ghana is the national football champion. In Kumasi, in the 1970s, it is important to note that there was not much evidence of a popular interest in sports. You could say that soccer was the only game that captured Ghanaian’s attention out of all of the other games brought from around the globe to Africa.
The small boys were often seen playing on any patch of grass, with kicking a ball or carrying a bag of rags. However, the sisters preferred to play ampe, an old-fashioned children’s game. Two players face off and move in sync with their opponent to earn a point. It was up to fair sex for some vestiges of pre-colonial sport scenes. One of the most interesting boys’ games was to tie a cockroach with a piece of thread and watch its flight. It was unclear if this contest involved counting the circuits until exhaustion.
Kumasi had a famed football field and a horse-racing track. Although betting was popular at times, the “sport of Kings” wasn’t always popular. Kumasi Golf Course, also known as ‘golf Park’ in colonial times is another relic. The elite expatriate community and local businessmen frequented this course, which was held together by the bankers and beer brewers. You can also find other remnants of colonial sports at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
The British Army’s third parachute regiment was stationed in Ashanti, Ghana for some weeks of jungle training. The troops returned to Kumasi after the exercise for two days of recreation. The university was challenged to play Rugby. An enthusiastic Welsh expatriate lecturer soon assembled a team consisting of British expatriates as well as one massive sergeant from Ghana Army. He looked at the giant soldier in his arms and asked for permission. The giant hadn’t played rugby before and soon realized that even fit academics weren’t up to the task of jungle-hardened warriors.
A few sports facilities were available to the Senior Staff Club, including tennis courts, badminton, and full-size billiards/snooker tables. Expat enthusiasts were a key factor in the success of badminton and tennis. They kept their activity going throughout their service. Unfortunately, foreign participants often left the campus and facilities were abandoned. This fate also afflicted the university’s Olympic-sized swimming pool and its Horse Society stables. The only exception to this was snooker, which seemed to be immune from the dependence of expatriates. A visiting British professional suggested that there could be a champion in Ghana who would challenge Asia and Europe.
The end of the decade saw a surge in interest in soccer. In 1978, Ghana hosted the Africa Cup of Nations finals. Kumasi was the venue for some of these games. The stadium had been rebuilt extensively and modernised to accommodate the occasion. Citizens were proud of being the center of international and continental interest, and all the towns became infected by soccer fever. A few people lost their lives after being crushed by the heavy-iron gates. This happened as the crowd tried exiting the stadium to end one of the matches. If they had survived, they would have celebrated with their nationmen in Accra’s win over Uganda in the final.