The very heartbeat of the game which are the players have not been spared from the horrors of hooliganism. A scar that lives with them forever.

A hotline documentary on this enemy which has found its way into the very fibre of Ghana football airs on JoyNews on Monday, June 23, 2025, all day.

It is a story of how these footballers have endured brutal, inhumane treatment at the hands of enraged supporters which has led to some of them ending their careers prematurely.

Their only crime?

Wearing their club’s badge with pride.

Abubakari Nawass was living his dream, leading the line for Tamale-based Real Tamale United. A dominant force on the pitch, the gifted forward was known for his strength and striking precision, earning him the nickname Emmanuel Adebayor.

He even met the legendary Togolese striker who made headlines with Arsenal in the Premier League.

But in a Division One League clash against Nsoatreman in Nsoatre, Nawass experienced the darkest moment of his footballing journey, a nightmare that would haunt him forever. That day, along with other incidents, shattered the dream he had spent years chasing.

In the upcoming hotline documentary Scars of Hooliganism, airing Monday, June 23, 2025, Nawass recalls:

“Stones were coming everywhere from all angles,” he said.

“A boy shouted ‘Adebayor’, when I turned, a stone hit my head. The stone was heavy and God really saved me. I was injured, bleeding with my dress full of blood.”

On why he eventually quit football, Nawass added:

“[Hooliganism] is one of the major reasons [I stopped playing]. Another incident also happened in Nkoransa - that day was very serious.”

In this powerful JoySports documentary, Haruna Mubarak revisits football’s darkest moments to tell the untold stories and exposes how, 24 years after the May 9 Disaster, the menace of hooliganism still haunts football.

Hooliganism is wrecking more than stadiums — it’s wrecking lives .

In this powerful documentary, @FactualMubarak
exposes the lasting trauma of football violence through the eyes of its victims .

Tuesday, June 24
@JoyPrimeTV#JoySports pic.twitter.com/4bytZG4a6U

— #JoySports (@JoySportsGH) June 19, 2025

It airs Monday, 23rd June 2025, at 8:30 am on the AM Show (JoyNews) and the Super Morning Show (Joy FM).

Catch the repeat at 8:30 pm on JoyNews.

Tuesday, 24th June at 9 pm on JoyPrime.