Former Ghanaian footballer Johnson Eklu has revealed how the Black Starlets lost the 1997 FIFA U17 tournament to Brazil by 2-1.
According to Eklu, Ghana’s U17 team was one of the best-performing teams in the tournament, leading them to qualify for the final where they faced Brazil.
The ex-Ghanaian footballer, who played a crucial role in the team at the time, shared that before the match, the head coach of the team, Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie, informed him that they would lose the game due to spiritual sabotage (juju) by some individuals against them.
Eklu further explained that Afranie mentioned some footballers and coaches were involved in the sabotage and predicted a defeat for Ghana, which unfortunately came true.
“Coach Afranie secretly told me that Brazil would beat us. He mentioned that some football leaders and coaches had used ‘juju’ to sabotage the team. He shared this information with me, and it turned out to be true after our loss to Brazil in the final,” Eklu said during an interview with Ernest Brew Smith on his YouTube channel.
The legendary player mentioned that he was unable to play in the final game after receiving a red card in the quarter-final match for misconduct.
Eklu has since retired from football but had played for clubs like Okwahu United, Dawu Youngsters, and Hearts of Lions.
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