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EXCLUSIVE: Why Africa Boycotted The 1966 World Cup - Sports - Nairaland

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EXCLUSIVE: Why Africa Boycotted The 1966 World Cup by mymadam(m): 10:17am On Jul 12, 2016
The 1966 World Cup is the only World Cup to have been boycotted by an entire continent. But it is better known for England's victory, a controversial goal in the final and the glorious displays of both Eusebio and North Korea.

Ghana's Osei Kofi was once described as being the equal of the legendary George Best by Gordon Banks, a World Cup winner in 1966.

Given the Northern Irishman's status as one of football's greatest ever players, that was some claim.

But the odds are you've never heard of Kofi, who put four goals past Banks when they met in two club friendlies.

This would largely be because a player nicknamed "One Man Symphony Orchestra" or, less poetically, "Wizard Dribbler" never got to unfurl his wing play at a World Cup.

He was denied the chance when Africa dramatically boycotted the 1966 finals.

At the time, Ghana's "Black Stars" were back-to-back African champions, having won in 1963 and 1965.

"We had the 'Black Stars' proper in those days," Kofi, now a Reverend, told the BBC in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. "We had the men, those who were strong and those who were intelligent.
"That's why we could have got to the World Cup at any given time."

But at the peak of their powers, the "Black Stars" were...

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