President John Agyekum Kufuor once told Obaa Yaa Grace Ashly how her cheer songs impacted football culture in Ghana, the singer has said.
She spoke to Nana Romeo on Accra 100.5 FM’s midmorning programme Ayekoo Ayekoo.
“I thank President Kufuor, as always. He told me I was the reason women passionately supported football in Ghana,” she revealed.
“He said this when he gave me a national award for what I was doing for the country through my cheer songs.”
Simply called Grace Ashly, the Gospel singer and cheerleader popular for energising the Black Stars and their supporters during the mid to late 2000s, observed her efforts had resulted in “large numbers of women supporting football”.
She said she was financially supporting some members of the cheering team devoted to the Black Stars.
Never, she lamented, did the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and sports leaders give her any monetary support.
“Nobody, since 2006,” she stressed.
Obaa Yaa Grace Ashly asserted she behind the scenes, she did more than just serving the Black Stars with morale-boosting Gospel songs.
“I had a team of six [people]. We would go away, embark on a dry fast and pray earnestly for the team, the players and even the GFA [Ghana Football Association], the moment I bring out a new song,” she said, explaining they were serious about this ritual knowing it was necessary to counter the physical and spiritual machinations of people who wanted to see the Black Stars defeated and disgraced.
Emphasising this was her heartfelt contribution to the success of the Black Stars apart from her patriotic songs, she said: “I know I was carrying that spirit [for their advantage].”
Noting the current uninspiring performance of the national senior male football team, she remarked, “When a helper is long overlooked and unappreciated, they cannot be faulted when they look on as something they once propped up begins to collapse.”
