As part of my internship I had a unique opportunity to attend the annual President’s Cup here in Ghana. The President’s Cup is a game played on the first day of July, a holiday here in Ghana called Republic Day, between Asante Kotoko Porcupine Warriors and the Accra Hearts of Oak.

This was the first professional soccer game I have attended since I went to an L.A. Galaxy game when I was a young kid. It was interesting to see the difference between fans here in Ghana and fans back in America. The main difference between the two fan bases is the amount of passion they have.

I was always under the impression that no one is more passionate about sports that Americans are. However, I quickly discovered that the passion here in Ghana associated with soccer teams tops any fan base in America. Throughout the whole game fans were chanting and even playing instruments in the stands. The passion of the fans was only matched by the amount of drama the game created as it went into penalty kicks to decide the winner.

This experience was eye opening to say the least. I was able to see how much the sport of soccer is engrained in the culture of Ghana. After the game I can say I am extremely excited to continue to learn more about the culture of Ghana.