The Afro Classico: Bragging rights and identity at stake as football meets culture

The curtain may have fallen on domestic football in England, but in the last week at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium the atmosphere has been just as lively as it has been all season as the ground hosted the Unity Cup – a mini-tournament between Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

The matches were framed as friendlies but they were anything but. The presence on these shores of African diaspora and shared histories with Britain – as well as with each other – made it imperative to claim bragging rights. On Wednesday, Nigeria beat Ghana 2-1 in what has become known as the “Afro Classico”, with the two sharing seven African Cup of Nations (Afcon) titles between them (Ghana with four, Nigeria three).

Much of the continent’s interest in the Premier League and English football is thanks to players from those two countries, such as Tony Yeboah, Michael Essien, Nwankwo Kanu and Jay-Jay Okocha. Although both teams came to the capital with understrength squads, there was no lack of passion and commitment in front of a booming near capacity crowd. Nigeria were 2-0 up after 20 minutes, with the Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers leaping into the stands to celebrate his opener. Ghana fans endured taunts of “Who are ya?” and “Ghana must go” when Razak Simpson’s own goal made it 2-0.

Brandon Thomas-Asante halved the deficit in the 70th minute, but Ghana left empty-handed, with their only crumb of comfort being the half-time playlist containing a medley of well-known Highlife and Afrobeats songs bringing the crowd to its feet.

Louis Nyarko, who was attending his first live Ghana match, approved of the occasion. “The amount of chat my friends are gonna give me, it’s going to be long! But it’s still Ghana for ever and overall it was a good experience,” he said.

Tosin Fetuga, a member of the Super Eagles Supporters Club UK, said many Nigeria-based members even flew in to watch the game. “Naija don dey carry last,” she said in pidgin, which roughly means “Nigeria never finishes in last place”. “We are a giant. We have the best music, food, men and women!” The rivalry now extends beyond sport: the culinary, music, fashion and cultural spheres are all up for discussion – but often it boils down to flashpoints that have roots on the pitch.

Ghana beat the Super Eagles to seal a place at the World Cup in Qatar in March 2022, coming out on top via away goals with a 1-1 second-leg draw in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, after the first leg finished goalless in Kumasi.

“We underestimated Ghana,” said Jide Banwo, another member of the supporters’ group. “We feel like we’re the big brother. So how can we not go and Ghana was able to sail through? That was a bitter pill to swallow for us, and it was really painful.”

There were reports that a small section of the local support had damaged the home dugout and equipment, while Ghanaian media reported that some Black Stars supporters had to be escorted into the players’ tunnel to ensure their safety.