Ho, June 14, GNA - Traders at the Ho main market, mostly women, boycotted the scheduled market day on Sunday to watch the Ghana-Serbian match.

Ghana won the group D opening encounter of the on-going world Cup by beating Serbia by a lone goal.

Most sheds and tables in the usually busy market were bereft of wares as the market women, young and old, dressed in the national colours were more concerned with the progress of the match than their livelihood. Madam Esenam Dornor, 30, a plantain seller who was closing her shop told the GNA that she could not equate her passion for the match to the profit she was likely to make that day.

"You know, money is not everything. You cannot replace happiness with money; that is why I want to go and watch the match to support the Black Stars and happy myself," she said. Amavi Adzomah, a vegetable seller, said in her failed bid to travel to South Africa to support the Black Stars, all she could do was to support them on the television. She said though she was making significant sales, she was parking her wares to get home in time for the match. Some people who went to the market to buy foodstuffs and other items expressed surprise at the situation. Ms Yvonne Harlley, a public servant, said she was surprised at the way even older women were interested in watching the Black Stars match over their businesses.

She said she had an appointment with a trader to bring her some goods but was disappointed as the trader shunned the market for the match. The central lorry terminus in the market was also "dead" with only a sprinkling of cars and no passengers.

Some farmers who came from surrounding villages with their produce expressed mixed feelings about the situation. Market days which come every five days are "sacred" for traders in the Ho market, so much so that churches record low patronage anytime a market day fell on a Sunday. Market days which fall on traditional festival days are also re-scheduled to avoid poor patronage.