There is no doubt that sportsmen take a lot of inspiration from crowd support. In football especially it is termed home advantage. There are many instances when thunderous partisan cheers from the stands have won victories for home teams on the brink of defeat.

In Ghana, you will find the most vocal followers of football in the Ashanti capital of Kumasi, where incidentally we have the biggest stadium in the country named after football legend Baba Yara, affectionately known in his heydays as “king of wingers”.

The Baba Yara Stadium is also the home ground for Kumasi Asante Kotoko, arguably the club with the largest following and perhaps the richest in the country. On a good day Kotoko fans can fill the 60,000 capacity stadium and that perhaps explains why the Football Association took a decision to play the Ghana-Benin World Cup in Kumasi.

However, early in the week there had been doubts whether the Kotoko fans would be in the right mood to throng the stadium following the club’s 1-0 defeat to local rivals Kessben FC in the Premier League. But a classic performance in a midweek outstanding match that saw Kotoko score a brilliant 2-1 away victory over Kpandu Heart of Lions has revived the sagging spirits of the Kotoko supporters. The dominant discussion on the numerous FM stations in the city is that the Kotoko victory portends luck for the Black Stars. Supporters are in high spirits and everybody is talking about carnival time on Sunday.

There is a corresponding sense of enthusiasm and high spirits in the camp of the Black Stars. Led by Michael Essien who is returning to international activity for the first time since September 2008 the players have vowed to make a good start in this six match round robin involving, Ghana, Benin, Mali and Sudan to pick the best for South Africa 2010. To mark his return to the Black Stars, Essien has launched his personal website at a short ceremony where he had good company with some members of the Black Stars. One time darling top striker Asamoah Gyan, who unfortunately lost favour with fans for his incessant near misses, promises to be back with a bang and he will have good support from skipper Stephen Appiah and Matthew Amoah.

Whilst the Black Stars are full of confidence to deliver the goods, the Squirrels from Benin are quietly plotting to unsettle them. The giant step they took in qualifying for the second group stage of the series , notably the 4-1 spanking of Uganda has given them so much confidence that they intend dropping the nickname Squirrels to Emerging Panthers to befit their new status in Africa football.

Reports say Sports Minister Ganiou Soglo, who mooted the idea of change in name is seeking parliamentary approval for his action.

According to the official website of the Federation Beninoise de Football, the Squirrel tag was coined in the 1950s apparently because it evoked a small animal which can climb high. But now Minister Soglo and many parliamentarians feel that a squirrel is an animal that runs off when it is challenged..

The challenge now for sports minister and the team is to beat the Black Stars if they want the change in name approved by parliament. This is the motivation for the Squirrels to eclipse the Black Stars in Kumasi and one should therefore expect an exciting contest.

Football fans in Accra who cannot travel to Kumasi to enjoy the fun will be compensated with another tough World Cup qualifying fixture involving Togo and Cameroon at the Ohene Djan Stadium on Saturday. Togo is facing a home ban for crowd violence hence the match being in Accra.

Greedy football fans like some of us would like to watch the Accra match on Saturday and leave early enough to be in Kumasi the following day to watch the Black Stars in action. It surely will be a healthy football cocktail to see both Samuel Etoo and Essien in action within 24 hours.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.