A former Ghana striker George Alhassan has attributed the decades of trophy drought by the Black Stars to a curse invoked by the 1982 squad.

According to him, the players were angry after the Rawlings led administration failed to honour its mouthwatering promises to them after they won the 1982 tournament. 

The players, in anger invoked a curse and for over 30 years the country has been struggling to win its first major trophy at the highest level.

The 1982 squad were not favorites, rather outsiders, due to inadequate preparations ahead of the competition. They won nonetheless.

After a coup d'état which toppled President Limann’s government in 1982,  Black Stars participation in the ensuing tournament was in doubt. There were security, diplomacy and financial constraints to surmount.

Black Stars 1982 squad

When the new military government led by Flight lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, the chairman of PNDC, took over, he insisted that Ghana should participate. He made promises to motivate the team to win. They did, defeating the host nation, Libya at a packed stadium with the late Colonel Gaddafi present. 

Former President Rawlings and Colonel Gaddafi

According to George Alhassan, who was the oldest player in the team, Rawlings' decsion not honour his promise to them on behalf of the nation forced them into invoking curses on the Black Stars

“We fought hard to win Ghana the 1982 AFCON. Everyday Rawlings would send us a message to encourage us ahead of the game, but when we won the trophy and returned to Ghana the only thing he did was just a salute.

“All the players were bitter about the treatment and we cursed the Black Stars that they will struggle to win titles,” he told Happy FM.

It’s been 35 years since then and Ghana has failed to win the competition.