Sorry folks for the long hibernation. I was consumed by the general elections passion in my beloved country Ghana and I completely lost the appetite to write. I am happy to back after cracking my brains trying to find out what Zain and Tain have in common.

Zain is the latest telecommunications giant that stormed Ghana towards the end of the year 2008. Zain’s arrival coincided with the peak of the general elections campaign but the company brilliantly managed to have its fair share of space for advertising bill boards and also captured a lot of attention in both the print and electronic media.

The simple introduction of allowing cell phone subscribers to retain their existing numbers but only replace the first three digits with the Zain code of 026, caught on well even though large section of the public got confused with the proper pronunciation of Zain.

In the midst of the struggle to get the pronunciation of Zain right, popped up another name Tain, a district in the north western part of Brong Ahafo region. For some inexplicable reasons, the run-off of the presidential election between Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP and Prof John Atta-Mills of the NDC could not be held in the Tain district and as things turned out, the Electoral Commission decreed that the winner of the Tain polls would determine who becomes the next President of Ghana.

Suddenly, the little district of Tain hit the international headlines and some people who take delight in hyperboles called Tain the Florida of Ghana, an indirect reference to the 2000 US elections when Florida became a focal point. Never mind the fact that Nsawkaw, capital town of Tain district is nowhere near the size of Nkawkaw, the popular commercial town in the Kwahu district of the Eastern Region, it suddenly rose into prominence and for the first time Ghanaians watched live television footages from the sleepy town.

When the history of Ghana election 2008 is written, the Tain District will occupy a prominent place, so also will be the Football Association that contributed immensely to cooling down tension with their well programmed exciting league fixtures that gave Ghanaians something to talk about aside politics. It is rather unfortunate that a day after the final casting of ballots at Tain, some hooligans tried to pollute the atmosphere with a rowdy behaviour after the Sporting Mirren- Asante Kotoko league match at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra.

Unsung Mirren were leading defending champions Asante Kotoko 2-1, when Kotoko got what appeared to their supporters a vital equalizer but was disallowed by the referee. The reaction against the referee’s decision was spontaneous and you need no white cane to realize that the mob were Kotoko fans. Most observers were therefore surprised to hear the Sports Council PRO telling the media that the Council would have to rely on match video recordings to find out which club was responsible for the rowdy behaviour that culminated in the destruction of property at the stadium.

I am not too sure of the legal responsibilities of clubs for their supporters in such cases but every effort must be made to identify those hooligans and properly charged in the law courts for willful destruction of state property. An example must set for these ruffians to realize that sport is for fun and relaxation and not a vehicle for knit wits to exhibit their animalistic behaviour.

Meanwhile, it is kudos to the Football Association for the excellent organisation of the league so far. It is really tight at the top with five clubs: Kotoko, Heart of Lions, Tema Youth, Chelsea, and Hearts abreast with ten points apiece. This is unprecedented in the 50 year history of the league. If the pace continues like this, there would be a lot of pressure on match officials and the organizers would have to be extra vigilant and take quick punitive actions to ensure that we have a successful competition and a worthy deserving winner.