Soccer News of Tuesday, 31 August 2004

Source: GNA

National cheer song competition for Stars

Accra, Aug 31, GNA - Multimedia Broadcasting Company (MBC), operators of Joy 99.7FM, is organizing a competition in search of a cheer song for the senior national football team, the Black Stars. The search is being organized in conjunction with Adom FM and Luv FM under the auspices of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to get a recognized cheer song for all matches of the Stars.
A statement issued by Kenneth Ashigbey, General Manager of Joy FM said the Black Stars Cheer Song competition is aimed at producing a cheer song that will not only inspire the Black Stars to strive for victory in their games but serve as a strong rallying song for its supporters.
He said the winner whose song will be popularized and performed live before the Ghana and DR Congo World Cup qualifier in October will receive 1,500 dollars in prize money.
Mr. Ashigbey said the prize money is intended to motivate and encourage many talented songwriters to join the search for a Cheer Song for the national team.
"Together with Luv FM and Adom FM, we expect that the huge volume of airtime and advertising space that will be devoted to the campaign will lead to the production of a cheer song that will not only appeal to the sporting public but will also serve as a rallying song for the senior national team as we continue with our quest to make our first appearance at the World Cup become a success," he emphasized.
He said cheering in football is very important all over the world and it serves as a great source of motivation during matches. Mr Ashigbey cited the case of Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko on the local front, Manchester United of (England) and the English national team who have all been inspired by songs by their various supporters to win matches.
He said the competition is open to all Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians who think they have the ability to compose an acceptable cheer song that would be easy to memorize, listener friendly, has general appeal with lyrical substance and is original.
Mr Ashigbey said the key-measuring rod for winning the competition would be its overwhelming acceptance by soccer fans.
He asked interested musicians to submit on Compact Disc (CD) to Joy FM or it sister stations their completed works but cautioned that attention would be paid to the quality of the recording.