Emmanuel Ayamga

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It was supposed to be a normal day of training for players of Bawku Unity Stars, a juvenile club in the Bawku Municipal District of the Upper East Region of Ghana. The Bawku Sports Stadium pitch was customarily rocky, the atmosphere fairly cloudy.

About 20 minutes into the session though, a seeming sense of panic and disorder started out of nowhere. Gunshots disrupted everything!

There was chaos and uncertainty, leaving the players, most of whom were adolescents, gripped with fear. In the minutes that followed, their lives flashed before their eyes.

Behind the Bawku Sports Stadium is a cemetery, usually so calm, and after that, a valley-like stretch, which serves as the unofficial barrier between the feuding Kusasi and Mamprusi tribes in Ghana.

On this day, however, calm eluded the cemetery and by extension all the bodies buried six feet underground who were supposed to be resting in peace.

The exchange of gunfire had started a few meters away from the stadium and the terrifying sound of flying bullets was getting closer and closer to where the club was training. Everything was happening so fast and as confused as these young ones were, their coach, Kabiru Abubakar, had to do something.

But with no combat training and zero experience in such situations, Kabiru could only order his players to lie face down and hope for the best. The shootings continued for a while but fortunately, Kabiru and his players escaped unscathed.

“On several occasions, we go to the stadium to train and we hear gunshots,” says Kabiru, who insists he and his players still aren’t giving up their dreams.

<blockquote>Sometimes we have to lie face down [when we hear the sound of gunshots]. But I always tell the boys that even if they throw bombs in Bawku, as long as we remain alive, they should come for us to continue working. Sometimes we lie flat on the ground and when the situation gets better, we get back up, go home, take some few days off and we return to training when things normalise.</blockquote>

This happened in 2021, and four years later, in 2025, not much has changed in Bawku.

Just shy of 10 months ago, Bawku was enjoying some rare peace and calm, with its exuberant populace going about their normal duties.

These days, however, all that’s left of it is a ghost town slapped with a curfew, having been blighted by chaos, insecurity and tribal murders.

It is a dire situation that has not only led to the senseless spilling of blood but is also killing businesses and dreams - Dreams of students, civil servants and even sportsmen and women in the township like Kabiru and the players under his care.

That latter group also includes Amos Anyenaba, whose career as a long-distance runner has stalled due to the ongoing conflict in Bawku.

“The issues around have impacted my training in a negative way,” the athlete concedes.

<blockquote>When I was in Navrongo, the training was very effective but the moment I completed training college and returned home [to Bawku], it has not been so effective. I’ve still been training but the performance hasn’t been that high and I’m no longer as strong and fast as I used to be.</blockquote>

Amos had always dreamed of becoming the first athlete from Bawku to win laurels on the national and international stage.

That dream saw him dedicate hours of his time to training. He juggled sports and education throughout his time in secondary school and training college. Now a graduate, Amos had made use of the previous months of calm in Bawku to better his finish time and competed in a few marathons across the country.

These were key moments in his fledgling career and he felt strongly within himself that he was getting closer to actualising his dreams. Fitness-wise and mentality-wise, he was hot to trot.

But in October 2024, following the enskinment and return of a parallel Chief to Bawku, everything changed for the young athlete. The long-standing conflict between the Kusasi and Mamprusi tribes reared its ugly head again and Bawku has known no peace since.

Official figures have put the death toll in the hundreds since the re-eruption of the deadly clashes in Bawku but some locals say the number is in the tens of thousands.

“When a particular tribe is killed, they don’t report to the police because they believe if they declare the deaths, the police will make that information public and their rivals will laugh at them,” Iddrisu Kassim, a journalist with Winpang Radio in Pusiga, a community near Bawku, reveals.

<blockquote>The only time the casualties are properly accounted for are when a person from one faction is killed in enemy territory and they cannot retrieve the body, so they report to the police for them to go in there to retrieve the body. These are the reports that you see in the media.</blockquote>

Bawku has been blighted by conflict for decades

Kassim himself has been a victim of the conflict. As a journalist working in the community, he frequently reports on happenings and offers correspondence to media organisations in the capital on the state of affairs in Bawku.

However, a few years ago, he was doxxed on social media after one of the feuding parties accused him of being biased in his reporting. That has put a target on his back and opened him up to threats, effectively compromising his safety.

Meanwhile, inter-school competitions in Bawku, which used to be a scouting ground for sporting talent, have ground to a halt due to the conflict. In fact, schools in Bawku have been dragged into the conflict, with students getting murdered in recent times.

“Inter-schools competitions, where teams come to scout players, are currently suspended,” adds Kassim.

<blockquote>This is because nobody can go into the area to organise such events. There used to be inter-groups competitions, but all that has stopped. Bawku has a festival, where every year they play a football gala. This year, they couldn’t play because there is no peace in the town.</blockquote>

<blockquote>As we speak today, due to the conflict, Bawku Technical School and Bawku Secondary School [both second cycle schools] have also developed a rivalry, which has led to a temporary closure of the schools following a clash between students.</blockquote>

Properties worth thousands of cedis have also been destroyed, while many have been maimed, including a promising 16-year-old kid at Kabiru’s juvenile club, who was shot multiple times in the leg when a bus he was travelling in got attacked by one of the feuding tribes.

Coach Kabiru Abubakar with some players of Bawku Unity Stars at training

“One of my boys is currently at the hospital because he has gunshot wounds on his left leg,” an emotional Kabiru, who more than just a coach is also a father figure at Bawku Unity Stars, opens up.

<blockquote>He’s also a left-footed player, so he cannot play anymore. This boy only completed secondary school last year and was in a bus en route to Bolgatanga when the bus was attacked.</blockquote>

Amos, who is a product of the inter-school competitions, has seen his career as an athlete badly suffer too. He used to train freely on the streets at night but the conflict has forced him to not only suspend his career but also flee from his home in Bawku to neighbouring Zebilla in order to preserve his safety.

“Because of the conflict, we have moved to Zebilla, which is not too far from Bawku. I used to train in the evenings between 6pm and 8pm using the street lights for proper vision,” says Amos.

<blockquote>But it’s now dangerous to run within or around Bawku in the evening, and that has led to a rescheduling of my training plans. The effectiveness of my training is no longer as high as it used to be.</blockquote>

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To understand the genesis of the Bawku conflict and its gravity would be to take a journey down memory lane to about three centuries ago. The Kusasis and Mamprusis, both tribes in Northern Ghana, have had a chequered history since the 1700s.

Although the Kusasis, who speak the Kusaal language, are predominantly settled in Bawku, their current capital, they are also scattered across Pusiga, Garu and the Tempane districts of the Upper East Region of Ghana.

For the Mamprusis, who speak the Mampruli language, they come from one of the oldest ethnic groups in Ghana, with their capital being Nalerigu in the NorthEast Region. Bawku and Nalerigu are, therefore, in different regions and separated by a few towns, including Bolgatanga, the capital of the Upper East Region.

So how is it possible that there’s a sempiternal feud between a tribe whose centre of rulership is in the NorthEast Region and another tribe several kilometres away and close to Ghana’s border with Burkina Faso?

Bawku is in the Upper East Region of Ghana

The Mamprugu Kingdom, as per oral and written history, was founded in the 13th century at Pusiga, a village that shares a border with Bawku and is only 14 kilometres away.

Although the kingdom is run from Nalerigu, where the palace of the Paramount Chief of the Mamprusi people is located,&nbsp; it also extends to parts of the three other regions in Ghana’s north, while its people can also be found in parts of Togo and Burkina Faso.

In fact, the tomb of Naa Gbewah, the founder of the Mamprugu Kingdom, remains in Pusiga to date, which is why the Mamprusis regard Pusiga as their ancestral home.

But Bawku has always been a town inhabited by different groups of people and a settler community for various tribes. Although the Mamprusis and Kusasis remain the dominant groups, you can also find the Hausa, Yanga, Bisa, Moshie, Dagomba and Bimoba there.

In the decades that have passed, Bawku has had Chiefs from both the Mamprusi and Kusasi tribes ascend its throne, amid a spate of infighting and chaos.

It’s a rivalry fueled by a desire for power, geographical boundaries and rulership. Both tribes believe they are the true owners of Bawku and, therefore, the Chief of the town should come from their sect.

“The Kusasis have a very rich history and when they talk to you, you’ll be convinced Bawku belongs to them. It’s the same for the Mamprusis, who equally have a great history and would convince you the place is theirs,” says security analyst Adib Saani, who has closely followed the conflict for decades.

<blockquote>It all depends on where in that history the story starts, so it’s impossible for me to say Bawku belongs to this side or that side. That is why there is the need for some bargaining to be done and for both sides to soften their stands and to be willing to make concessions, otherwise if they take intransigent positions, it’s going to be very difficult to deal with the issue.</blockquote>

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In the last four decades, Zugraan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II from the Kusasi tribe has been the recognised Paramount Chief of Bawku, known locally as the Bawku Naba. Asigri Abugrago Azoka II ascended the throne in 1984 following the demise of his father, Naba Abugrago Azoka I.

Although Asigri Abugrago Azoka II’s rule has had its ups and downs and has constantly been challenged, he was gazetted as the legitimate Chief of Bawku, making him the overlord of the Bawku Traditional Area.

But not even being gazetted has halted questions over his legitimacy, especially from the Mamprusi section. The issue has been adjudicated twice in court, both of which saw the Kusasis declared as the custodians of Bawku.

The first was in the 1950s, when the colonial administration set up a commission to settle the matter once and for all. The commission’s findings backed the Kusasis’ claim and, when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became Ghana’s first president, he implemented the commission’s findings.

That decision was said to have put Nkrumah in the bad books of the Mamprusis and, depending on who you ask, it is believed that one of the earliest assassination attempts on Nkrumah’s life was in part due to the side he backed in this long-standing feud.

On August 1, 1962, the Ghanaian leader was returning from a meeting with the then Burkina Faso president, Maurice Yameogo, where the construction of a major hydroelectric project over the Volta Lake was discussed.

Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

On his way back via road, Nkrumah’s convoy used the route at Kulungugu, a town on the outskirts of Bawku, where school children had gathered by the roadside to catch a glimpse of the President.

As the showman that he was, Nkrumah stopped to acknowledge them and was to be presented with a bouquet of flowers by a schoolgirl. Unbeknownst to him, there was a bomb planted in the flowers.

But Nkrumah was lucky to survive, mainly thanks to the proactivity of his security guard who, upon hearing a ticking sound, quickly pushed Nkrumah away.

Still, Nkrumah sustained some injuries and shrapnel was removed from his back when he was later treated at the Bawku Hospital. According to Nkrumah’s photographer at the time Dr. Chris Tsui Hesse, many of the schoolchildren were killed by the bomb.

Kwame Nkrumah suffered an assassination attempt at Kulungungu

“Kwame Nkrumah was standing on the right side of my camera that day and the school kids were performing beautifully,” Dr. Hesse narrates.

<blockquote>Nkrumah and his Ministers were moving towards the school girl to collect the bouquet and I was in the middle with my lens capturing everything in detail.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Immediately Nrkumah took a few steps, his body guard, Captain Samuel Buckman, pushed him to the ground and covered him with his (body guard’s) body. Then we heard boom! My camera captured so many things scattered and falling from the sky. Later, I discovered they were human parts. Many of the school kids were dead!</blockquote>

Two more court rulings have gone against the Mamprusis since 1957. First, an appeal in 1958 saw the verdict once again go against the Mamprusis, before in 2003, the Supreme Court again affirmed the legitimacy of the Kusasis.

That is why Asigri Abugrago Azoka II has been the lawfully recognised Chief of Bawku all this while. But in February 2023, the overlord of Mamprugu, Naa Bohugu Mahama Abdulai II, enskinned Seidu Abagre Kulugu as chief of Bawku.

This created a parallel traditional leadership, which led to renewed clashes between the Mamprusis and Kusasis in Bawku.

The government of Ghana, through its then Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, released a statement describing the enskinment of Seidu Abagre Kulugu as "illegal and a threat to National Security."

The Bolgatanga High Court later issued an arrest warrant for the overlord of Mamprugu for illegally enskinning another chief in Bawku but the warrant was rescinded a few days later following an unsuccessful attempt by the military to arrest him at his palace in Nalerigu.

Fast forward, what was already a tense situation escalated when Seidu Abagre Kulugu was escorted to enter Bawku, creating a situation where the town now had two rival Chiefs. This sparked chaos, leading to several murders and destruction of properties.

Consequently, hospitals, courts, schools, banks and NGOs in Bawku have shut down to protect their employees, which has led to a spike in unemployment.

“The conflict has brought serious hardship on the people of Bawku. We’re talking about market women, businessmen, NGOs and other sectors are all not happy with the situation,” Bawku-based journalist Kassim divulges, adding:

<blockquote>As we speak now, there’s no government hospital in Bawku that operates fully to save people’s lives. The workers of these institutions have run for their lives, because they believe they’re not safe.</blockquote>

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Both factions continue to hurt each other and the number of casualties continues to increase by the day. Coach Kabiru recounts an occasion when one of his players forewarned him of an impending attack because he was privy to where the act was going to take place due to his association with one of the feuding parties.

“We were training one day and a player told me the training session would not end well. I asked him why and all he said was that an attack was coming,” reveals the Bawku Unity Stars coach.

<blockquote>I didn’t believe him at first and kickstarted the training session but a few minutes later, gunshots started sounding everywhere. Bullets were flying inside the stadium so we had to hide. When the situation became calm, I asked the player how he got to know of the attack and you know his answer? “Oh coach, have you forgotten I’m a member of one of the tribes?” So I began taking his warnings seriously. It has now become a normal thing in Bawku.</blockquote>

The insecurity in Bawku has also seen the town placed under a curfew from 8:00pm to 5:00am for some time now but not even that has managed to stop the killings.

“We’ve been under curfew for five years now. Some of the people are now used to it. It doesn’t matter if the curfew is from 2pm to 6am, they are okay with it,” Kassim laments.

<blockquote>The worrying aspect is that despite having over 500 military and police personnel around, crimes are still rampant during curfew hours. People still find ways to kill and attack their rivals because they live in the town and they know all the blind spots to evade the security on patrol.</blockquote>

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There are more than five professional clubs in Bawku and many more juvenile teams, although most of them are facing an uncertain future due to the ongoing conflict. Some have gone extinct and others have been forced to temporarily disband the team.

There are also a few who are still holding on to slim hopes that the conflict would stop soon so they can return to playing the game they love.

One of such is Iddie Wuni Abubakar, a football administrator and founder of Bawku Royals FC, a club with U13, U15 and a senior team.

“Every night, you’ll hear gunshots,” says Iddie, who admits he’s always worried about the safety of his players.

Dreams in Ruins: The sporting cost of the Bawku conflict in Ghana

Journalist Emmanuel Ayamga tells a chilling story of how the Bawku conflict is affecting sporting activities in the region...

Article Written By Emmanuel Ayamga and Mandela Yaw Anuvabe

Kara Welsh was on her way to a very promising career. At 21, she was already a national gymnastics champion after starring at the NCAA Division III championships. Welsh was also a student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she majored in sports management at the university's College of Business and Economics.

All her dreams of graduating with a degree and becoming one of America’s most decorated gymnasts ended abruptly on the night of August 30, when she was shot dead by her boyfriend Chad Richards. Richards, who has since been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, shot her eight times with a black gun.

Welsh’s death did not just cut short an auspicious career, but also plunged the victim’s family and an entire community into depression. The university had to offer counselling to its gymnastics team and coaches after they were informed of the tragic death of their colleague in-person.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We offer our deepest condolences to Kara’s family, friends and teammates at <a href="https://twitter.com/UWWGymnastics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UWWGymnastics</a>. <a href="https://t.co/5XsUEway2n">pic.twitter.com/5XsUEway2n</a>&mdash; USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAGym/status/1830300886993883279?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Welsh’s younger sister, Kaeli, was inconsolable when she spoke at a hearing. "She [Kara] was the strongest person I know, both physically and mentally," a deeply emotional Kaeli said as she fought back her tears. "She had so much more to give the world than gymnastics.”

Indeed, Welsh had a lot to give to the world. And there are thousands of people like her who have lost their lives in a similar fashion due to the spate of gun violence in the United States.

America has had a gun violence problem for decades, although many are reluctant to admit it. But with the country set to be one of three host nations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this epidemic of gun violence can no longer be overlooked.

The World Cup is meant to be a celebration of football, but the safety of fans should always come first. Nobody should travel for a tournament anywhere and not return home in one piece.

<h2>America’s love for guns should scare fans gracing World Cup</h2>

By design, America as a country has encouraged its citizens to love guns, having struggled to draw a line between freedom and absurdity. The US Constitution’s Second Amendment backs “a well-regulated Militia” as being necessary to the security of a free State and stipulates that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

To this end, even as America continues to struggle with mass shootings and incidents of gun violence, the majority of its citizens believe the solution is to possess more guns. Laws concerning the minimum legal age required to possess a gun remain lax and grey.

While persons below 18 are prohibited from owning handguns under federal law, there is no minimum age for owning a shotgun or rifle. In fact, it’s technically legal for a<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/27/in-30-states-a-child-can-still-legally-own-a-rife-or-shotgun/"> child to possess a long gun in 30 states</a> in the US.

In Arizona, just three days before Welsh’s boyfriend emptied eight bullets into her neck,<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28948946"> a nine-year-old girl accidentally killed a shooting instructor</a>. How did she even get close to a gun? The instructor, Charles Vacca, was teaching her how to use a high-powered submachine gun when the recoil from the automatic fire caused her to lose control of the Uzi and she ended up shooting the instructor in the head.

But why should a nine-year-old be handling guns instead of reading books or watching anime movies? Back in 2008, a similar incident saw an eight-year-old boy tragically lose his life after accidentally shooting himself in the head during a gun expo in Massachusetts.

“If dad wants to give his son a rifle or a shotgun on his 13th or 14th birthday, he's pretty much free to do that in most states," the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, Daniel Webster, said earlier this year.

"The laws aren't designed in essence to protect children from accidental shootings of this nature. There's a mindset that's fairly prevalent in the U.S. that there's nothing wrong with kids firing guns."

Thousands of people die in America yearly due to gun violence

For many Americans, holding a gun has become a sport so fun that they entertain themselves and their children through shooting. But if anyone is allowed to possess a gun, including children, what’s to stop them from barging into a stadium and firing into the crowd? It might sound outlandish but the many documented cases of mass shooting in America prove it’s not far-fetched at all.

<h2>America being treated with kid gloves as compared to Qatar</h2>

December 2, 2010 – The day Qatar was announced as host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Representatives from all 208 FIFA Member Associations at the time attended the 2010 FIFA Congress at the Haus des Sports Center in Zurich, Switzerland, as the decision to host the world for the first time in the Middle East was made.

Qatar won the bid over Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States, recording 14 votes against the United States’ eight in the final round of voting.

However, before that, the small Arab country was criticised for not having adequate facilities and being ‘too hot’ in the summer, when the tournament is usually hosted.

Nonetheless, it won the bid despite growing concerns of human rights abuses and violations.

The BBC was one of the leading Western media that highlighted Qatar's human rights record

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he was “happy" the tournament was going to the Middle East but later confessed to regretting the decision.

“Qatar is a mistake,” he told the Swiss Newspaper Tages Anzeiger in November 2022. He then added that FIFA changed its rules in 2012 as Qatar’s human rights record was constantly questioned: “Since then, social considerations and human rights are taken into account.”

As the country sped up the construction of stadiums, hotels and transport systems to meet the infrastructure requirements to host the tournament, the spotlight again was on how migrant workers, who made up about 90% of the workforce according to Amnesty International, were being treated.

An Amnesty International report six months after the tournament found that many people who were hired as security officials and marshals were “still being denied justice for the abuses they suffered despite FIFA and the hosts Qatar being warned that they were especially vulnerable to exploitation and workers raising complaints and protesting about their treatment.”

Likewise, a 2023 Human Rights Watch study found that FIFA and Qatari authorities failed to compensate migrant workers for abuses such as strange deaths and wage theft.

The media, especially Western media, covered these issues extensively and some notable personalities boycotted the tournament. Not even a $1 million check could convince British musician Rod Stewart to be at the tournament. He declined the offer saying “It’s not right to go.”

There was no mention of Qatar without a follow-up question on human rights, safety of fans, and protection of LGBTQ+ people in the lead-up to the global Mundial. And rightly so.

The world was, and has been, vocal on these issues for years, accusing Qatar of sportswashing - a term used by Western media in reference to using investment in sport to cleanse a country’s bad image.

The Guardian published a dossier on the working conditions of migrant workers in Qatar

Hence, it is no coincidence that international investigative journalist Karim Zidan wrote that 2022, the same year Qatar hosted the World Cup, may have been “sportswashing’s biggest year” thus far. For FIFA president Gianni Infantino, though, the years of criticism of Qatar hosting the World Cup were simply a case of virtue signalling.

Infantino accused some countries of “hypocrisy” and “racism” and suggested they were just projecting themselves as being more morally upright. He also accused the West of double standards in highlighting Qatar’s human abuses.

Maybe Infantino was right because everyone seems to have lost their voices just two years before the next World Cup in the US, Mexico, and Canada. Despite America being plagued by troubling records of gun violence that continue to soar with each passing day, the Western Media appears to have gone mute.

The BBC ran a series of stories on Qatar’s poor treatment of migrant workers, alongside scathing headlines. The British national broadcaster would go on to boycott the World Cup opening ceremony, choosing to use the time to broadcast a mini-documentary detailing the treatment of migrant workers, corruption at FIFA and Qatar’s tough laws on homosexuality.

The Guardian also had a dossier on the subject - titled ‘Ten years of hurt: how the Guardian reported Qatar’s World Cup working conditions’ - which catalogued the 6,500 migrant workers who had died in Qatar since the World Cup was awarded to the country.

The Athletic and the New York Times even published a guide on Qatar’s human rights record, where fans were briefed on the kafala system and the death penalty under Sharia law for those found guilty of engaging in same-sex relationships.

The Athletic published a guide on Qatar's human rights infractions

Key actors of the game also called out the Arab nation, with the Australian national team leading the charge by releasing a collective statement against Qatar's human rights record.

America, on the other hand, has been spared such high levels of scrutiny despite its appalling gun violence record. No active footballer or national team has yet publicly commented on the issue, with less than two years to the next World Cup. Qatar deservedly received criticism over its poor human rights record and America’s mass shootings deserve the same global attention, if not more, due to the thousands of lives that are lost yearly via guns.

<h2>Is the US safe to host the World Cup?</h2>

Millions of people are expected to travel to the US for the 2026 World Cup, which will be the first time in the tournament’s history that it will feature 48 teams. Aside from going there to enjoy some great football, fans will also be expecting to move around freely and safely. Unfortunately, though, that cannot be guaranteed.

Gun violence has become a fixture in American society and,<a href="https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/"> according to the Gun Violence Archive</a>, there have been more than 385 mass shootings across America so far in 2024 alone. In the last four years, the US has averaged over 600 mass shootings and at least two per day.

<a href="https://www.kff.org/other/poll-finding/americans-experiences-with-gun-related-violence-injuries-and-deaths/#:~:text=The%20latest%20polling%20from%20KFF,or%20killed%20by%20a%20gun.">A KFF poll in 2023</a> showed that “a majority (54%) of U.S. adults have either personally or had a family member who has been impacted by a gun-related incident, such as witnessing a shooting, being threatened by gun, or being injured or killed by a gun.”

Also, one in five adults said “they have been threatened with a gun, while nearly as many said they have witnessed someone being shot." A small number also said they “shot a gun in self-defence.”

Data from the<a href="https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/datarequest/D157;jsessionid=A42E9669378EDE78DB1D14EE5397"> US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)</a> shows over 50 people are killed daily by a firearm in America. More damning is the fact that sports events have not been left out.

In February, there was a fatal shooting near a rally to celebrate the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, a 2026 World Cup host city. A mother of two was killed in the process, while 22 others were injured, half of whom were children below the age of six.

“If you argue against the regulation of firearms after seeing 10 people shot at a #SuperBowl parade, then get your brain checked to see if it works,” ex-American forward Taylor Twellman lamented on social media platform X. “And while you are at it, check the heart too. Disgraceful. Imagine when the World Cup is here, why would a visitor feel safe?!”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">If you argue against the regulation of fire arms after seeing 10 people shot at a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperBowl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperBowl</a> parade, then get your brain checked to see if it works. And while you are at it, check the heart too. Disgraceful. Imagine when the World Cup is here why would a visitor feel safe?! <a href="https://t.co/deLMaxhEFn">https://t.co/deLMaxhEFn</a>&mdash; Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) <a href="https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/1757869538975142189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In Houston, another host city for the World Cup, a family innocently complained about a neighbour’s frequent shooting in the front yard, which was disturbing their baby’s sleep. The said neighbour's solution to the complaint was to shoot and kill five people. Complete madness!

Just a few miles away from the AT&amp;T Stadium, which is widely tipped to host the World Cup final, a gunman with an AR-15 killed eight people and wounded seven more at a mall last year. In a separate incident, another gunman fatally shot five people at a medical facility near Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium, one other venue for the World Cup.

While globally, not much noise has been made about the safety concerns, several governments, including America’s allies, are already warning their citizens against travelling to the US. The United Kingdom has advised its citizens travelling to the US to be “vigilant at all times” because gun attacks could be “indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners, crowded areas, and transportation networks.”

Australia has told its people in the US to “learn and practise active shooter drills” while Japan and New Zealand have also warned their citizens to be wary of “domestic-based extremists” in America. The German government also highlighted how “it is easy to obtain guns” in the US and said that has led to “occasional killing sprees.”

Even Canada, who are co-hosts of the next World Cup, has advised its citizens to “familiarise yourself with how to respond to an active shooter situation.”

Amnesty International has also described the rampant gun violence in the US as a<a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/global-human-rights-movement-issues-travel-warning-for-the-u-s-due-to-rampant-gun-violence/"> “human rights crisis.”</a> The campaign manager for the End Gun Violence Campaign at Amnesty International USA, Ernest Coverson, accused the US government of a lack of political will to stop the menace.

The USA will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico

“Travellers to the United States should remain cautious that the country does not adequately protect people’s right to be safe, regardless of who they might be. People in the United States cannot reasonably expect to be free from harm – a guarantee of not being shot is impossible,” Coverson said.

“Once again, it is chillingly clear that the U.S. government is unwilling to ensure protection against gun violence.”

In a country where people have been shot for merely knocking on the wrong door, having a weird accent, looking foreign, or dipping their hands in their pockets to bring out their IDs, safety concerns ahead of the World Cup are justifiable. The US knows it has a gun violence problem but the country appears divided over regulating firearms.

The situation, however, remains a ticking time bomb that could finally explode during the World Cup. There have been several high-profile incidents of gun violence, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump surviving an assassination attempt at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania in July after his shooter missed him by a whisker. If very little has been done to check gun violence in America after these incidents, then it’s increasingly looking like nothing will change by the time the World Cup kicks off.

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy did not mince words when he declared gun violence an urgent public health crisis in June. “Over the last decade or two, this problem has been worsening and we have now reached the point where gun violence is the leading cause of death among kids and teens – the leading cause of death. That is something that we should never take as the new normal. There’s nothing normal about that,”&nbsp;Dr. Murthy told CNN in June.

“We’ve experienced so many mass shootings, so many incidents of gun violence in our neighbourhoods and communities, that it has really pervaded the psyche of our country. It has induced fear in people about regular day-to-day activities, like going to the grocery store, going to school, going to work.”

The bottom line is, the US is not a safe country and even its allies know this, hence the travel warnings to their citizens. The renowned musician and media personality Ozzy Osbourne made it public that he was relocating from the US back to the UK due to its pervasive gun violence. He told the Guardian that the gun violence in America was "f***ing crazy."

"Everything's f***ing ridiculous there. I'm fed up with people getting killed every day," the music hall of famer said. "God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert.”&nbsp;

Osbourne’s wife, Sharon added: “America has changed so drastically. It isn't the United States of America at all. Nothing's united about it. It's a very weird place to live right now."

People continue to fall victim to gun violence in America on a daily basis, bringing pain and torment to their families. Kara Welsh’s family, friends and former teammates continue to reel from the pain of losing their beloved and might never get over it. Another promising basketball rookie, Aaliyah Gayles, has had to start from scratch after suffering bullet wounds at a house party in North Las Vegas.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Aaliyah Gayles fought to return to the court for <a href="https://twitter.com/USCWBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCWBB</a> after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. She is the 2024 <a href="https://twitter.com/CWSA_HondaCup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CWSA_HondaCup</a> Inspiration Award Winner. <a href="https://t.co/U3zj7PmEsK">pic.twitter.com/U3zj7PmEsK</a>&mdash; CBS Sports (@CBSSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/1805390997431435710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It was Easter and Aaliyah was at the party to celebrate with her friends when a shooting gatecrashed the event. Nine bullets were fired through her arms and legs, leaving her with 18 holes and several fractured bones.

The 20-year-old miraculously survived but the incident set her career back. Before being shot, she was a college star at USC and the first Las Vegas prospect in the last decade to be picked for the McDonald’s all-American game.

Her biggest dream was to play in the WNBA but she has spent the last two years undergoing multiple surgeries and physiotherapy. She’s resilient, though, and hasn’t given up on her dream despite the sight of bullet wounds traumatising her each time she steps in the shower or enters a changing room to dress up for training.

“These wounds are not going nowhere so I got to tell them one day why I got wounds on my legs and arms,” Aaliyah said upon her return to the court. Sadly, there’s been no breakthrough in investigations into the shooting, and the case remains unsolved, with Las Vegas police citing a lack of credible information from witnesses. Justice seems to be far from being served.

A country that boasts more guns than people is certainly not a place where the World Cup should be hosted and like Qatar’s poor human rights record, America’s alarming gun violence record deserves equally critical global attention.

World Cup: Qatar’s human rights record dominated headlines. Why’s USA rampant gun violence not getting same global attention?

Qatar were hounded and badgered over their mistreatment of migrant workers and poor human rights record in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and rightly so. But with two years to the next tournament, the world seems to have gone silent on the pervasive gun violence in the USA, a country where 385 mass shootings have been recorded in 2024 alone, with a yearly average of 44,000 deaths and 96,000 injured person by guns…

World Cup: Qatar’s human rights record dominated headlines. Why’s USA's rampant gun violence not getting same global attention?

Christopher Sededzi Kwame

First it was meant to be just a football game. And it was dangerous. And then it became scary. For close to 20 hours, Nigeria’s national team was left at the mercy of every danger possible when they were left stranded at the Al-Abraq International Airport.

The Super Eagles were supposed to land directly in the city of Benghazi, where they were scheduled to take on Libya in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier. However, with just a few klicks to their destination, Libyan authorities forced their pilot into a mid-flight diversion, and they ultimately landed in Bayda in eastern Libya.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">&quot;This is not the first time we&#39;ve had this situation.&quot; 😮 Cecilia Omorogbe explains what has happened as Nigeria’s national team have been left stranded at Libya&#39;s airport for more than 15 hours. <a href="https://t.co/cIT5X0Cumf">pic.twitter.com/cIT5X0Cumf</a>&mdash; Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyFootball/status/1845794569750770054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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And that was how Nigeria’s overnight ordeal started, backed by Libya’s deployment of the “dark arts”.

“In aviation, we calculate fuel based on our destination. Diverting unexpectedly can compromise safety,” the pilot of Nigeria’s plane later lamented.

“I repeatedly questioned the directive and warned them about fuel limitations, but they insisted that we land at Al-Abraq, citing orders from the highest authority… I had to make a visual landing, which is risky, especially in those conditions. It was not easy, but fortunately, we landed safely.”

“Fortunate” is what Nigeria were. When the Super Eagles landed at the Al-Abraq International Airport, they were all but cut off from civility. According to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), “no official of the Libyan Football Federation was at the airport to receive the delegation” and “airport officials could not answer the simple question of where the buses that would take the delegation members back to Benghazi were.”

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Good Morning Everyone!🇳🇬 The Tunisian 🇹🇳pilot that flew the <a href="https://twitter.com/flyvaluejet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@flyvaluejet</a> airline has said his side of the story . I love the way he still stuck with the super eagles 🇳🇬🇳🇬❤️ CAF should use this case to end this north African antics for good!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/superEagles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#superEagles</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFCON?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFCON</a> <a href="https://t.co/iXpBxe8CVW">pic.twitter.com/iXpBxe8CVW</a>&mdash; Festus Dada (@festusdada1) <a href="https://twitter.com/festusdada1/status/1846066171449143801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The NFF said they were provided with no food or water, while internet connectivity was also a challenge. Some damning photos that went viral on social media showed superstar players like Victor Boniface, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey sleeping on the benches as they were forced to spend the night at the airport without any security.

Boniface lamented on X (formerly Twitter): “Been at the airport for almost 13 hours, no food, no Wi-Fi, nowhere to sleep. Africans, we can do better.” Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong also said they had “locked the airport gates and left us without a phone connection, food, or drink. All to play mind games.”

Victor Osimhen, who didn’t travel with the squad due to injury, also hit out at the Libyan authorities, saying his international teammates were “not criminals or prisoners” to be treated in that manner.

Ultimately, Nigeria had to boycott the game and fly back to their home country after enduring such a harsh reception from their hosts. CAF has since punished Libya for poor sportsmanship, awarding three points and three goals to the Super Eagles, and also fining the North African nation $50,000.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Captain Troost Ekong says the Super Eagles will not honor their match day 4 AFCON 2025 qualifier. <a href="https://t.co/I6SmDVNcOs">pic.twitter.com/I6SmDVNcOs</a>&mdash; Akosua Adjei (@Akosua__Adjei) <a href="https://twitter.com/Akosua__Adjei/status/1845745068390457378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Indeed, this is one of the few times that the continent’s football governing body has cracked the whip when it comes to the deployment of “dark arts” and it’s probably because Nigerians were very vocal about their “hostage” situation and made sure they drew the attention of the world to it.

<h2>Football should not be about life and death</h2>

Football is a universal language, uniting millions through a shared passion for the beautiful game. Over the decades, it has evolved dramatically, becoming an essential part of global culture and entertainment. In Africa, a continent bursting with raw football talent, players and teams continue to make strides on the world stage, captivating fans worldwide.

Yet, a disturbing undercurrent persists: “dark arts” within the sport, characterised by unsportsmanlike tactics, mistreatment of players and even voodoo. These practices tend to compromise the integrity of African football, turning what should be a celebration of talent into a cautionary tale.

The African football scene has repeatedly captured the global spotlight, with Morocco’s historic 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final run a testament to the continent's potential. However, this success is often overshadowed by the “dark arts” plaguing the sport. In recent years, allegations of fear tactics, psychological warfare and unsporting behaviour have surfaced, diminishing the game’s allure. Such incidents reflect a troubling trend, especially at a time when Africa is edging closer to its dream of World Cup victory.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Enyimba was held in an Airport for almost 2 days in 2021. When they were allowed to leave, their star striker, Tosin Omoyele, was held back on the allegation that he failed a Covid test. He stayed another 7 days in that country <a href="https://t.co/HIRjD100u4">https://t.co/HIRjD100u4</a>&mdash; Ayodeji Adegbenro (@dejigbenro) <a href="https://twitter.com/dejigbenro/status/1845802573497766109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Nigeria’s ordeal followed complaints from the Libyan squad over alleged substandard conditions before the reverse fixture in Uyo. These retaliatory actions, however, underscore an escalating tit-for-tat cycle that undermines the fundamental values of sportsmanship and mutual respect in football.

<h2>Dark arts hurt branding of the game and advertisement</h2>

This hostile environment carries far-reaching consequences beyond player well-being. In modern sports, branding is everything. Football is not only a game but a business, and in a globalised economy, image drives sponsorships, investment and fan engagement. The persistent presence of “dark arts” and unsportsmanlike conduct damages the reputation of African football, turning potential investors away.

Concerns over security and the mistreatment of visiting teams create an unwelcoming environment that sponsors and stakeholders hesitate to associate with. The result is a lack of commercial growth, widening the gap between African football and their competitors in Europe and South America.

Without the allure of stability and a positive image, Africa’s footballing leagues risk missing out on the financial benefits that stability brings, further stunting the continent’s potential for growth. Investors want predictability, not the controversy and uncertainty currently shadowing the game. The situation limits opportunities for aspiring players, creates financial hurdles for clubs and, ultimately, impedes the sport’s development.

<h2>Player safety concerns amidst quest to woo foreign-born footballers</h2>

Player safety is paramount in any sport, but in African football, it often comes under threat due to the lack of oversight in hostile environments. One of the most intense examples of this came during a World Cup qualifier in Cairo in 2009.

As the Algerian team bus approached their hotel, stones were reportedly hurled at their vehicle, injuring three players and an official. Egyptian media suggested the attack may have been staged by the Algerian camp to have the match moved, reflecting just how deeply entrenched the lack of trust is. Such incidents leave players exposed and vulnerable, threatening the very essence of football as a safe and fair game.

Mistreatment of away teams in the African game is gradually growing roots and the ordeal faced by Nigeria in Libya not only casts a shadow on African football but also highlights a pressing issue that could turn fatal to players if not checked…

Emmanuel Ayamga

Articles written by the author

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