It is almost a constant sight before football matches start, especially in Africa, to see players bundle at the centre of the pitch to offer prayers or seek divine interventions, a culture you will seldom see in European football.When a team prays ahead of a match or a championship, does it get God or whatever diety’s favour over the other participants? What is the role of divine interventions in sports? Does God take sides in sporting contests?Those questions have lingered, days to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 after the government of Ghana and the country’s football body (Ghana Football Association, GFA) declared two days of national prayers and fasting for the Black Stars. Muslims faithfuls were slated for Friday with their Christians counterparts booked for Sunday prayers.Making a return to the global spectacle after missing out on the 2018 edition, the four-time African champions, who are the lowest ranked team by FIFA out of the 32 heading to Qatar at position 61, are yet to impress in their preparations amidst high expectations.The coach Otto Addo’s side will face Portugal and South Korea in Group H before a grudge match against Uruguay, who knocked them out in the quarter-finals in 2010.In a recent Kirin invitational Cup tournament in Japan, Ghana lost 4-1 to the hosts, before a 0-0 draw with Chile. This was followed by a 3-0 friendly defeat by Brazil in France last month, before labouring to beat Nicaragua, who are 81 places below them in the Fifa rankings, 1-0 in Spain.🇬🇭Black Stars Head Coach Otto Addo 🗣 I know that we (Ghana) can beat every team in the World- Via 3sports pic.twitter.com/cHrwUqKDMP— Coach Afia Empress 🇬🇭 (@SistaAfia_) October 27, 2022 Previously in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON qualifiers, the Black Stars beat Madagascar 3-0 at home before being held to a 1-1 draw away.The lethargic performances have led to doubts over the ability of Ghana on the pitch, and – having already changed coaches and turned to the diaspora for new players – the country has now turned to God.Meshack Ochieng: From class eight dropout to prestigious Mr America Bodybuilding Champion”The feelings are varied. Some Ghanaians believe prayers and fasting can be of help to the Black Stars and make them do well, while majority especially on social media think otherwise, to them with quality within the team, they can perform well without divine interventions,” Ghanaian journalist Nuhu Adams told Mozzart Sport.Sports pundit Tom Bwana strongly holds that God is too busy and has more pressing issues to attend to than to meddle in sports, “God does not take sides in football matters, God is too busy, we’re inside a pandemic (COVID-19), He has better things to take care of than influencing a 90 minute football contest,” football pundit Tom Bwana told Mozzart Sport.Ex-AFC Leopards and Kenya’s Harambee Stars international Boniface Ambani avers that prayers are secondary to hard work. “Working to achieve what you want and asking God to help you achieve it are two different things, you have to work hard then pray to God to help you achieve it and not the other way round. Anybody can pray, but if you haven’t done the right things to succeed then it is all in vain. If Ghana has not paid allowances to players, ensured all the logistics are in place, then even if they pray, it won’t make any difference.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6757076##So what is the role of prayers in sports? In as much as Bwana opines that God is not interested in who wins a match or loses, he says prayers are important in terms of mental preparedness. “It’s more of a culture and part of getting ready mentally for a match. Some clubs engage the services of a witch doctor, while others like Leicester City visited a Monk in Hong Kong before their most successful season in the Premier League.”Kenya’s most capped player and former Harambee Stars skipper Musa Otieno, who played at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON is a strong believer and holds that in all situations, God must be praised.”We don’t just pray for a win; when we pray before games, we ask God to keep us injury free, amongst many other things. You may lose a match but you have not picked an injury or none of your teammates are injured, still thank God. In all situations, win or lose, we give him back all the glory and honour,” the Police FC assistant coach said.Ligi Kuu Tanzania, hype or real development?No African team has won the World Cup. Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal have gone the furthest in the competition, reaching the quarterfinals.President, Atheists in Kenya Society, Harrison Mumia is urging the government of Ghana and the federation to concentrate on making sure that the Black Stars are well taken care of. “Prayers are not known to work. The best the government and the federation and Ghana can do, if they want good results in Qatar is to ensure that the players are accorded the best preparations and their welfare is well catered for. Issues like allowances should be sorted out in time to ensure the players fully focus on playing the game.”
