Cantonments F/C Cuts

When I arrived in Ghana a few weeks ago I learned that the Senior team of Cantonments F/C was having some problems and that there was a rift between some of the players. It hasn't been the same unified team but instead it has been divided recently. But this morning, no, this morning was different.

This morning all the Cantonments Senior Football players circled out in the middle of the pitch. It was unusually dark and cloudy this morning with spitting rain. They lifted their voices, clapped their hands and stomped their feet. The unity of their voices echoed throughout the park as they gave thanks to the only one constant in their lives.

They knew that today the cuts for the team were going to be announced and some of those who they had been with for a long time would no longer be a part of the club. This is the first year that Cantonments is cutting such a large number in order to create a more successful team.

So for one last time, they stood united. I watched with the other volunteers; all of us in awe goosebumps covering our bodies. Cantonments is more than a football club; it is a family. They have given each other food to eat, a place to live, clothes to wear, and love when they couldn't find it other places.

It may sound ridiculous to those of you reading this, and a little over dramatic too. But when you have virtually nothing, and you risk losing one of the last things you have...it is more than just making it onto a sports team.

I love this country, I love being here, I bought my first Ghanaian sweat hanky today!