The former footballer has shed light on how they used to consult marine spirits ahead of football games
Former Ghana U17 captain Emmanuel Bentil has revealed that he used to consult marine spirits together with other players ahead of games.
Bentil, who led the Black Satellites to win 1995 Fifa U17 World Cup, says they used to pray at the beaches in Accra during midnights or early hours of the day for protections and good luck.
According to him, former Juventus midfielder Stephen Appiah who later captained Ghana to their maiden participation in Fifa World Cup at the senior level, as well as Awudu Issaka, Christian Atta Gyan, Attakora Amaniampong, Abu Iddrisu and Charles Allotey were among players that sought for spiritual help.
“Yes, I did. We went to certain places for rituals to win games,” Bentil told Lifestyle TV.
“I remember even when I played monchendi (a highly competitive local football game in the 80s and 90s where teams and individuals stake bets on the outcome of matches) at Chorkor, a suburb of Accra. We used to go to the beach maybe at midnight; maybe 1 o clock in the morning or 2 O clock in the morning.
“The whole team had to go there and pray. They will pray and call the saints and sometimes you can hear things, noise and something will come out from the sea like maame water (mermaid).
Bentil further revealed that several teammates of the national team could not achieve their full potentials due to such spiritual beliefs as they failed to show appreciation to the spirits.
“Not like the way it happened to the whole group. Most of us ended up with knee injuries,” Bentil insisted.