Grace Ashly Accuses Former Player Stephen Appiah of Demotivating Black Stars through Songs

Ghanaian singer Grace Ashly has revealed that a comment by former Black Stars player Stephen Appiah left her disheartened and demotivated in her pursuit of composing songs for the senior national male team.

In an interview, she recounted the incident, which occurred about a decade ago, and how it impacted her enthusiasm to promote the team through music.

According to her, this was after a victorious game in Kumasi against Gambia during a challenging season where the team had lost public support due to poor performances.

“We went to play football in Kumasi against Gambia. At the time, the team was facing a downturn. It was not very attractive to the public, so ahead of the game, we went to Kumasi to mobilise the crowd for the stadium. We did a lot of work.”

After the game, when her team had flown to Accra, they met Appiah, who had run into a fan at the parking space who was congratulating the team.

“When we alighted, we met Stephen, and one fan patted him and told him to support me for what I do for the team. He told Stephen he only remembers Black stars are in existence when he hears my songs,” she recounted to blogger Zionfelix.

“In response, Stephen said the work I do is in service to the state. The man told him I was not paid for what I do, and Stephen retaliated, ‘she should quit if she is not paid.’ I was very sad.”

She revealed that she stopped composing songs for the team since then.

In her interview, she openly acknowledged former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s significant support and motivation during his tenure.

Among them was a national recognition in the form of an award.