Rev. Osei Kofi, a member of Ghana's victorious 1963 and 1965 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) squads, has stirred discussion by attributing Ghana's 2015 AFCON second-place finish to unfulfilled promises to past players.
In a candid interview with JoySports, he highlighted the impact of a token gesture made by former president John Dramani Mahama to AFCON winners before the 2015 tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
According to Rev. Kofi, the symbolic gesture did not suffice to lift what he described as a historical curse stemming from unmet commitments made to past victorious squads.
Despite Ghana's impressive journey to the 2015 final, where they led in a penalty shootout against Ivory Coast before narrowly losing, Rev. Kofi believes that unresolved promises dating back to Ghana's earlier AFCON triumphs have hindered subsequent successes.
He pointed to promises of houses made by former leaders like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, promises that were never fulfilled, leading to an enduring sense of betrayal among the players.
"When we were going to Cameroon [for the 2021 AFCON], I heard a prophet on Asempa FM saying that, if [leadership] don't look back and cater for the old ones that won the cup, they won't get to the quarter-final, and truly, we came back with one point," he said.
"No one has cursed the team, but in the Bible, Ecclesiastes chapter 5:4-6 says, 'When you make a commitment or promise, you should not postpone fulfilling your vow. Failing to keep your promises is considered foolish, and God does not look favorably upon such behavior.' If you know you won't honor it, don't make the promise," he stated.
"You [Ghana] promised to give us houses, and if you don't give us any, you no longer win. Does it mean we cursed you?" he quizzed.
"Can you use $5,000 to build a house? Those who went and got $100,000, what did they do that they got the $100,000? Do you know that when they came, everybody bought a house? My standard 7 certificate understanding, a promise, and a token, are they the same? 'Osei, go and win the Cup and come for a car'; I win, you don't give it to me, but rather say, 'What I have I will give you,' are they the same?
"The five penalty shootouts… listen to this very carefully… John Mahama, what he did, if he had fulfilled the promise, Ghana would have won the trophy. The five penalties, Ghana scored the first two, and Ivory Coast missed. Ghana needed one more to win, and we missed. You see what the token did for Ghana? The token took us to the final, but it couldn't win the cup. He needed to fulfill the promise, and we would have been champions."
When asked whether former players were given a token to appease them prior to AFCON 2010 when Ghana made the final, he said: "Mahama's assertion was just an example. When he did that, I told him I was not a learned student, but I know a promise is different from a token," he noted.
"In all the four AFCONs we won, no one had a bicycle, but the recent team placed second in Equatorial Guinea, and they were given Cherokee cars. In 1965, when we won the cup and brought it, there was a big banquet."
"Acheampong called me and Sempah Asante to tell the Black Stars players that if they win the Cup to honor Ghana and him as the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces in Ghana, that was when the Dansoman Estates were being built, they would be given a house each, and they won," Kofi stated.
"Akuffo removed Acheampong and said he didn't promise. You see the unfortunate incident? When a head of state promises and the head is not there, is the state also not there?" he questioned.