Where's the ball gone?

'The ball is in your bag, white man you have cheated us!' With 15 minutes remaining of a league game yesterday the game was interrupted by an opposing player running onto the field to steal the matchball. The game was on a knife edge, we were dominating but the score remained 1-1 in a game we needed to win. In the aftermath I attempted to run after the man who had stolen the ball, footballs are an expensive commodity in Ghana.


The chaos that followed was typical, only in Ghana could a man wielding a machete at a football match not cause widespread panic. Despite the utterly chaotic scenes, the situation never seemed dangerous, the volunteers who travelled to watch the game all had a great time. I was slightly more stressed by the situation, encouraging our players to stay focused on the game that could re-commence at anytime.


The referee made the decision that the game could not continue until the ball was returned. The opposing players were convinced that we had got the ball back and hidden it so the game would be postponed. After 50 minutes of heated debate between players, officials and supporters the referee blew the final whistle and it seems the 3 points will be awarded to Cantonments. The day ended with jubilant celebrations from our players.


This brought a bizarre end to what had been an unbelievable weekend, which also saw the Under 17 side win a regional tournament. Added to this was the success of one young player, who has been scouted to join a Ghanian side travelling to the Dana Cup in Denmark.