Ghana v Nigeria: More Than Football
This fixture suppose to be the final qualifying round for the World Cup as the winner will take one of the tickets for Africa but many things are involved.
From artistes battle to Jollof rice tussle and the actual football rivalry on the pitch.
ARTISTES BATTLE
In 2021, one of Ghana’s musicians, Shatta Wale came out to share his thoughts about how Nigerian musicians “no dey show love” and how they are underrated.
This is a subtle jab at Wizkid because he just recently sold-out O2 Arena in London that week.
Shatta’s statement shattered the social media space and even Ghanaians didn’t support one of their own.
The rivalry in the music industry between both countries is out of this world but artistes like Stone Bwoy, Sarkodie & R2Bees still maintain good relationships with Nigerians’ artistes.
JOLLOF RICE TUSSLE
I don’t think there could be an end to this war because no one will settle for less.
Different celebrities even Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry tasted the Nigerian jollof rice and endorsed it.
Chefs from both countries have gone head to head in a cooking contest but it seems their sentiments can’t allow them to be objective.
I will be going for the first leg in Ghana, maybe, I will test it to draw my conclusion about the best jollof rice in Africa.
FOOTBALL RIVALRY
Rivalry throws form out of the window, records are thrashed as guts and bragging rights dictate the essence of this game.
Ghana and Nigeria have faced each other 56 times with the Black Stars having the upper hand after hauling 25 victories against Nigeria’s 12 victories with 19 of the matches ending in a draw.
Their last match was a friendly in England but there was nothing to separate the two African heavyweights.
The statistics above show that Nigeria are underdogs in this encounter as only form makes us better than the Black Stars of Ghana.
Even from the venue, it was another saga on its own before Ghana Football Association settled for Kumasi.
This rivalry began in 1950 and the game on Friday, 25th of March will show the world why this game is more than just football.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News