2010 FIFA World Cup: What Africa Can Learn From Ghana's Loss

It was a single straw that broke the Camel's back. Or so they thought.

One strike to put Ghana through to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup.

One strike to set the whole of Africa berserk in fits of celebration.

One strike that refused to score.

One strike that destroyed a dream.

And it was one stroke, a stroke of luck in the guise of an inadvertent (or deliberate) hand ball, that kept Uruguay alive in the World Cup. But for that hand ball, Uruguay would now be biting their nails while Ghana celebrate.

When all is said and done, the whole of Uruguay should thank Suarez for damning the rules of football for just a second and playing the goalkeeper. If this was inadvertent, they should hail him all the same.

One moment, they say, changes everything. That moment of handling the ball changed everything for Ghana. That's how cruel fate can be--today your friend, tomorrow an inconsiderate stranger, if not an outright enemy.

In the end, Ghana must be commended for playing gallantly and for doing everything they could to win the game. It wasn't to be, but they certainly gave it their all. They have everything to be proud of in their run at the World Cup.

Africa as a whole could derive lessons from Ghana's loss.

First, the truism that good things don't come easy.

What if Ghana had won the match in the final minute? For those who believe in providence or in a higher power, they could wonder why Ghana had to play every possible minute of the game to win a duel already decided in their favor by fate.

For such a question, the stated truism would be an appropriate answer.

But beyond superstition or metaphysics, there's a broader lesson Africa could learn here.

Namely, that dreams (the good thing) seldom come to pass at the first try. Africa was poised to celebrate the achievement of  a first semifinal at the World Cup. It was an achievable dream, but in the end, the dream dissolved like a flake of snow.

Here is the moral: Africa has been lurching and heaving just beyond the line of economic and developmental breakthrough. In a number of African countries, notably Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, just one push (one strike, one stroke) of will power is the single essence required to push them over that line of limitation.

One act of restrain, one more minute of dogged will-to-power and the breakthrough comes.

What is often forgotten (conveniently most times) is that Africa is trying to do in 50 years what took the rest of the world a thousand years or, at least, half a millennium to do.

Africa has had to compete with nations that have had centuries of head-start, just as in football Africa is trying to accomplish in two decades what took other continents eight or nine decades to accomplish.

Brazil has competed in all of the World Cup tournaments and yet has  won the competition just five times. Germany has won it just three times. Now, Ghana trying to accomplish the difficult in just two tries.

Certainly, they should celebrate the success won in just two tries at the World Cup, Cameroon, Senegal, and Nigeria likewise.

Only three quarterfinals for Africa? And so what? We only just joined the party. Wait and see what we will accomplish in the future.

Not getting it yet economically and developmentally? The whole wide future is open, blank like a notebook, to be filled with future deeds of greatness. The greatness which is still latent will explode in no distant a future. Just wait for it.

Second lesson: If at first you don't succeed, try again, as says the common wisdom.

2006: Ghana reaches the last sixteen in Germany in her first try at the World Cup. 2010: She reaches the quarterfinal. 2014? We can only imagine.

1994: Nigeria has a blast of a run at the World Cup in the USA, almost (oh, that cruel word!) knocking out mighty Italy in a bid for the quarterfinal.

1998: She beats one of the best teams, Spain, on her way to the second round of the World Cup in France.

2002: Senegal stuns France at only her first try at the World Cup and on her first day too! Eventually, she would beat some of the best teams at the Korea-Japan edition of the World Cup to reach the quarterfinal, following in the footsteps of Cameroon.

And, of course, Cameroon's amazing run to the quarterfinal of Italia '90 is a stuff of legend.

All these examples are moderate and seem overblown when compared with the success of South American and European teams. But they become remarkable when considered in the light of the disadvantages and limitations which Africa has had to overcome to achieve her successes.

A battle fought in your backyard is yours for the taking. It is almost certain that you would not lose such a battle. Europe, and indeed South America, have held the advantages in football. They have played football in their backyards, as it were.

Africa joined the fray late in the game. But they are catching up soon enough. They are beginning to figure out the game (ask Kader Keita of Cote d'Ivoire). Soon the playing field will be completely leveled and international games will be everyone's to take.

The third lesson is a lesson in courage and bravery and pertains solely to Asamoah Gyan.

How heart-rending it must have been for him to miss the penalty that would have assured Ghana a victory. An experience such as this shatters the nerves. Yet Gyan was courageous and brave enough to not only agree to be one of the takers of the eventual spot kicks, but to be the first to do so.

It was an immediate call for him to face his demons. He did, and came through victorious.

Of course, there is a moral in this: Just as Gyan missed the penalty, life often consists of misses, but like Gyan faced his demons, there's often (if not always) a next time to defeat the drawbacks of life.

Fourthly, no matter how hard you try for success and no matter how hard you push for it, you may always count on an enemy to be in your way. Sometimes it is in the form of a deliberate hand ball.

At such moments, even the law might not help you. You may need to make your own destiny. And when you try and still fail, dust yourself up and try again. Next time, you may have the last laugh.

Finally, we may learn a lesson in perseverance in this loss. It sums up the foregoing points. The maxim is keep trying. Keep knocking. Keep pushing.

In his major speech on race relations, the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, cited the ongoing democratic experiment as analogous to the delicate issue of race and tolerance which is a work in progress.

Particularly resonant in his speech was a reference to how the founding fathers of the USA, coming to a stalemate in a convention at Philadelphia, stroke a compromise with the understanding that the process of attaining nationhood is continuous and requires years to attend perfection.

For Africa, in football and other aspects of her society, the quest to attain her dreams is a process that requires years, decades, and even centuries of trying and failing. What matters is rising and trying again.

No one can doubt the achievements of the USA as a nation, but with every good thing, every achievement, one may find a concomitant negative thing. However, these negative things cannot and should not negate her successes. We may certainly celebrate the changes (for the better) that we see.

Likewise, although Africa is yet to realize her potential, and there are indeed negative things upon which we could focus, it is best and proper to celebrate the good things that are happening in the continent. Africa has enough achievements worthy of celebration.

One last example: It comes from the movie, Karate Kid , currently playing in theaters.

Mr. Han teaches Dre Parker Karate by using the most mundane of things. But the most striking thing is how he develops strength and character in the boy by making him stay on task, repeating a particular chore over and over again: a lesson in perseverance.

There is one task that the boy is seemingly unable to accomplish no matter how hard he tries, which is to strike a bell dangled high in the courtyard with his foot. But as he continues trying, he is finally able to do so. It is after this that Mr. Han pronounces him ready to fight his demon in the form of the bully, Cheng.

For now, the high bell for Africa is the semifinals at the World Cup. Though she couldn't achieve this target this time, if she keeps trying, she will eventually hit the target. And that goes for all of her struggles.

Let me thank the reader for persevering with me to the end.

Gracias.