Elikem writes: A cheer song for the Black Stars, go Black Stars!

The Black Stars of Ghana play their third and final group F match today at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2019) in Egypt. The Black Stars have not been impressive at this tournament although having been marked one of the favourite teams on the African continent with two successive draws, 2-2 with Benin and 0-0 with Cameroon.

Unfortunately, back home, the feeling isn’t the same. It took a lot of effort on the part of Ghanaians to sit behind their TV sets and watch the stars play with lots of people watching the game with their eyes but protecting their hearts to avoid getting a heartbreak. You cannot blame Ghanaians, we just began an era where the country has fallen out of love with the Black Stars with their seeming disappointments here and there.

Heartbreaks such as our early exit from Brazil 2014 with lots of issues in the camp of team Ghana and our fourth position at the 2017 Afcon, our failure to qualify for Russia 2018 and the most recent exposé by investigative journalist Anas to reveal the rot in Ghana football cannot be forgotten easily.

Ghanaians will watch today’s game with a reminder of what the Black Stars are capable of doing, winning the trophy but also a scar from the disappointments of the past which will serve as a lesson for watching today’s encounter with Guinea-Bissau. We would rather not give the Black Stars too much of our love.

Regardless of this, our team would still have to play today’s game against a not so strong side Guinea-Bissau at 4pm GMT today. I feel like Guinea-Bissau is the only team in group F who have not given the other teams enough competition and I would love to see them give team Ghana a bit of competition to see the Black Stars pull through to the round of 16. Ghana is hungry for a trophy and the Black Stars must make sure the dream of Ghanaians is made manifest.

With not so much support though we would want to see team Ghana win, if the streets of Accra were deserted on the night of Tuesday, 24 June 2019 during the Black Stars encounter with the Squirrels of Benin, then Black Stars should know that Ghanaians were indeed willing to give them another chance to make them fall in love with the team again. The disappointment that characterised the two games played so far, speaks volumes that indeed the Black Stars have broken hearts over and over again and it’s time to make Ghanaians fall in love with them again.

So as the Black Stars go into today’s game, I remind them of my cheer song again. I remind you, the Black Stars, of my poem for you:

MAKE ME FALL IN LOVE AGAIN!

I gave you all of me My heart, my soul, my body I kissed your ass and licked your pee, After all you were my demigod, my idol, my shining star... What did you do with it?

You threw my apples away... You took all the times I'll still lay the bed and await your arrival home for granted, Whilst you went flirting with the world In search of fame, fortune, becoming complacent in the process You put a knife through my heart and turned me into an ugly soul You scarred my body after I lay naked for you to have your way. ... You had me, all of me yet you took all that for granted.

Yesterday I moved on.... Today you come craving my attention again. My support, my heart, body and soul: all of me Make me fall in love again.

Bring back all the magical moments when you touched me and I melted... When your kick made me do a royal dance because I had danced with a demigod. When the crown that you gave me sparkled with glitters of red, gold, green and the black star. I'll bare my soul to you... If only you will make me fall in love with you again.

Go Black Stars! Go Ghana! Go Go Go! Make me fall in love again... The plea of Ama Ghana. I believe in you... Go Black Stars go!

Dear Black Stars, just to let you know that we believe in you. We know you can do this. We at home and around the globe are not only expecting a win in today's game which will mark a great start toward winning the trophy. A second position is even more painful than a third. We want the trophy! I speak for the millions of Ghanaians. Black Stars we want the trophy and nothing less!

So, on this note, know that our vuvuzelas which we have come to adopt will be blowing from Accra to Paga to Aflao to Elubo. Our voices will echo to sing your praises, we'll be waving our flags and more importantly at some point, our hearts will be with you. Make sure you don't break them. Make us fall in love with you again instead. Make us compose songs in honour of you. Make us write an ode to our team.

Go Black Stars and when you rise to become 2019 Afcon champions, don't forget that I led the cheer song to victory.