2-0

A blog about Ghana would be incomplete without a post about football and I have just committed that unforgivable error of announcing the score ahead of describing the match. As they say in Ghana, "sorry-o"! I attended my first match last Sunday at the stadium in Accra. Hearts of Oak vs Kotoka, the big Accra and Kumasi teams against each other. A bit like Man U vs Arsenal.

Football is really big here, everyone follows the premiership and champions league, especially the teams with Ghanaian players like Chelsea FC. I hope someone is impressed with this level of football talk from me...! I am really looking forward to the Ghana - England match next week.

Back to the game, the crowds were huge, with almost everyone in their team colours (except us)! It was also very frenetic. People got punched in the queue for tickets and the atmosphere was even more volatile inside with fights and punch-ups breaking out all around us, including on the pitch. But there was also a carnival atmosphere with drums, trombones, women dancing and singing, school boys being the football equivalent of ball boys, and it was very colourful to look around the huge stadium and see everyone in their strips and singing team songs. Outside people ate fufu with soup, clearly a match staple. The teams came on to warm up amidst lots of cheering and did a great dance as they went off the pitch to prepare for the match. The game was really fast moving, and Kotoka scored in the first five minutes and a second time in the first half. At one point we saw this blur as a creature of some sort scampered towards the pitch. Security rushed after it and bludgeoned it to death. We thought it was a rat, or a large lizard, but according to press coverage afterwards it was a cat, and it had to be killed in case it was bringing a bad juju spell to one of the teams. Apparently a common part of Ghanaian fotball!

I decided I'd had enough live football experience after the first half. During half time people used the are around the stadium, even the steps, to wash and do their prayers. There was a scuffle to get out as people were still trying to force their way in and we had to dodge a police taser which suddenly erupted to life! So, several thousand people, live music and dancing, diet coke, a few punch-ups, fufu, a taser and a cat bludgeoned to death all in 45 minutes makes for a very entertaining football experience!

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera, but will try and get hold of some pictures.