The year 1982 presented a historic moment in the world of football as Ghana, the West African powerhouse, clinched the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) title for the fourth and last in their history.
However, Ghana’s journey to the 1982 AFCON title began in the qualifying rounds, drawn in a challenging group that included Nigeria, Tunisia, and Sierra Leone. The Black Stars were in excellent form throughout the qualifiers, finishing at the top of their group to secure their spot in the tournament despite facing financial limitations for the qualifying round.
Hadn’t been the 1982 coup detat that toppled the Limann’s government, Ghana wouldn’t have participated in the 1982 AFCON, due to diplomatic reasons and financial constraints. When the new government led by Flt Lt J.J Rawlings, the chairman of PNDC, took over, he insisted that Ghana should participate.
The Black Stars defied all odds to beat host nation Libya, on 7-6 on penalty shootout to win the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations trophy in front of their intimidating home fans in the finals after a pulsating 1-1 draw in regulation time.
According to the legend, 1982 AFCON: Black Stars Were Held Hostage by Libya-George Alhassan
and the team was expectant of receiving some rewards for winning the cup but the then Military Government led the Jery John Rawlings only gave them a handsake upon their return from Libya.
Some members of the were not happy about this gesture and reportedly dared and cursed the Nation not to win the AFCON again.
“So the players said we will see how they [Ghana] will win the cup again”, he told Ahotor FM.
Ghana has since 1982 not won the continental trophy after several attempts drawing parallel lines of story with Benfica’s sixty-one years on of no European silverware despite major EIGHT final defeats following Bela Guttmann curse in 1962. His Benfica team featuring Eusebio won back-to-back European Cups, in 1961 and 1962. Then he asked for a pay rise, was snubbed and quit with a declaration that they would not conquer Europe again for a hundred years.
Ghana failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004 failing to win a single game during the 2025AFCON qualifiers.
