Former Black Stars defender, Afo Dodoo, has emphasized the crucial role of Ghanaian supporters ahead of the national team’s World Cup qualifier against Chad.
Ghana kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Madagascar but suffered a setback with a defeat to Comoros.
However, the Black Stars bounced back in style, securing crucial wins against Mali and the Central African Republic in June last year to reignite their qualification hopes.
But in the past few weeks, cases of Hooliganism have plagued Ghanaian football which has called for urgent measures to improve fan protection at our various stadiums with many calling for our games to be played behind closed doors.
Speaking in an interview with Channel One Sports, Dodoo urged fans to rally behind the team despite recent challenges, stressing that their presence is essential for success.
We can’t play without our crowd, and what happened shouldn’t take the fans out of our game. We need our fans. We need to win this game easily, but we shouldn’t underestimate our opponent
Dodoo acknowledged the rising level of competition in modern football, pointing out that no team can be taken lightly. According to him, the players will thrive with the backing of their passionate supporters.
These days, everybody is playing very well, so we need our fans. Our players would need our fans
He also called for swift action to resolve fan engagement issues that may be discouraging attendance at matches.
“That’s why I said we have to treat the fan engagement issues very quickly so that it goes off people’s minds so that people can go to the stadium. Ghanaians are Ghanaians ; they want to watch their football,” he added.
Dodoo urged all stakeholders to work towards attracting supporters back to the stadium, expressing confidence in the Black Stars’ ability to deliver a victory.
“We have things to do to bring them to the stadium. We have to encourage the supporters to come to the stadium because we will win this game
The Black Stars, currently in a strong position in the qualifiers, will be hoping for massive fan support as they take on Chad in their next crucial encounter.
