Sport
Association football is the most popular sport in the country. The national men's football team is known as the Black Stars, with the under-20 team known as the Black Satellites. The under-17 team is known as the Black Starlets, while the national men's Olympic team are known as the Black Meteors. They have participated in many championships including the African Cup of Nations, the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
On October 16, 2009, Ghana became the first African nation to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Brazil 4-3 in a penalty shootout. On June 13, 2010, Ghana defeated Serbia 1-0 in first round play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup becoming the first African team to win a FIFA World Cup game hosted on African soil and subsequently became the only African team to progress from the group stage to the knock out phase at the 2010 event. On June 26, 2010 Ghana defeated the USA by 2 goals to 1 in their round of 16 match, becoming the third African country to reach the quarter final stage of the World Cup after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. A loss to Uruguay in Johannesburg on July 2, 2010 by penalty shoot-out ended Ghana's attempt at reaching the semi-finals of the competition.
While men's football is most widely followed sport in Ghana, the national women's football team is gaining exposure, participating in the FIFA Women's World Cup and the CAF Women's Championship. The Ghana women's national football team is known as the Black Queens, while the Ghana national women's under-20 football team are the Black Princesses.
There are several club football teams in Ghana, which play in the Ghana Premier League and Division One league, both managed by the Ghana Football Association. Notable among these are Accra Hearts of Oak SC and Asante Kotoko, which play at the premier league level and are the dominant contenders in the tournament.
Prominent football players recognised at the international level include Tony Yeboah, Michael Essien, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Abedi Pele, Asamoah Gyan, Anthony Annan, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, John Pantsil, Samuel Osei Kuffour, Richard Kingson, Sulley Muntari, Laryea Kingston, Stephen Appiah, André Ayew, John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah.
Ghana is also the birthplace of World Wrestling Entertainment Wrestler Kofi Kingston (born Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah), who is wrestling on the Smackdown brand. Also is Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong who competed in the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The has also been quite a few quality boxers produced such as Azumah Nelson a three time world champion, Nana Yaw Konadu also a three time world champion, Ike Quartey, as well as boxers Joshua Clottey and IBF bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Ghana
Famous quotes containing the word sport:
“If a walker is indeed an individualist there is nowhere he can’t go at dawn and not many places he can’t go at noon. But just as it demeans life to live alongside a great river you can no longer swim in or drink from, to be crowded into safer areas and hours takes much of the gloss off walking—one sport you shouldn’t have to reserve a time and a court for.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)
“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting.
”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“Drag racing is a sport of egos, and it’s all male egos.”
—Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney (b. 1940)