GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music
No Result
View All Result
GhanaStar
No Result
View All Result
Home Sports

How Jon Benjamin Is Spreading the West Ham Way Throughout Ghana

April 25, 2017
in Sports
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Jon Benjamin has appeared on whufc.com before, back in 2013 when he was British Ambassador to Chile and tracked down Javier Margas in the capital, Santiago.

You Might Also Like

The Top Young Players to Watch in the Premier League

Ghana Forward Caleb Ekuban Scores for Trabzonspor’s in Loss Against Denizlispor

African NFL Players You Need to Know

The following year, Benjamin swapped countries to become British High Commissioner to Ghana and non-resident Ambassador to neighbouring Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso.

He finishes there at the end of June to return to the Foreign Office in London for a three-year home posting – which means he will finally get to see his beloved Hammers play in their new London Stadium home.

“I have supported West Ham all my life, given my family’s East End origins, first watching games at Upton Park in the early 1970s,” he began. “I particularly remember a 4-3 win over Everton in 1974 and was at our FA Cup final win over Arsenal in 1980. Back then, my favourites were of course Brooking, Bonds and Devonshire.”

Subsequently, he was a loyal Season Ticket Holder, at least whenever on a home posting in London. That has not been that often though, as a 31-year Foreign Office career has so far taken him to Australia, Indonesia, Turkey and the United States (New York), as well as to Chile and now Ghana as ambassador.

He is not the only Hammer amongst the senior ranks of the Foreign Office though: Tom Fletcher, former Ambassador to Lebanon and Mark Lyall Grant, a previous Ambassador to the US and now the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser are big West Ham fans too.

“In Ghana, I oversee a High Commission of nearly 200 staff, of whom about 75 per cent are Ghanaians, representing 12 different departments of Her Majesty’s Government,” he explained. “My tasks include overseeing bilateral political, trade, aid, cultural, defence, law enforcement and immigration relations, and a lot of media work.

“I am also in touch with the UK’s vibrant Ghanaian community too: there are at least a quarter of a million Brits who claim Ghanaian heritage, including the actor Idris Elba, the fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, TV personality June Sarpong and footballer Danny Welbeck.”

I have supported West Ham all my life, given my family’s East End origins, first watching games at Upton Park in the early 1970s.

The high commissioner also knows the four Ghanaians currently playing in the Premier League Daniel Amartey at Leicester City, Jeffrey Schlupp at Palace, Jordan Ayew who recently joined Swansea and, of course, our very own Andre Ayew.

In Accra, Jon often sees Jordan and Andre’s Dad – Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew, who in his own right is perhaps Ghana’s most famous player ever in his home country. Benjamin is also in touch with John Paintsil, another Ghana-West Ham connection of course.

“Ghana is a football mad nation which follows the Premier League closely with virtually every game live on cable TV – which often means several games on simultaneously” he continued. “Yes, that’s right, you can catch virtually every West Ham game live from a sofa on Accra!

“I’ve become good friends with some of Ghana’s best-known national team players, such as Asamoah Gyan, and already knew Andre Ayew well before he joined the Hammers. When he did, some Ghanaians even thought I had personally brokered the deal!

“On one trip back to Ghana last year, Andre brought Ashley Fletcher with him on a Betway promotional trip, and I was fortunate enough to catch up with them for dinner with legendary former captain of Ghana’s national team, Stephen Appiah. “

Benjamin’s influence during his three years in west Africa have also included the launch of a twitter account dedicated to Hammers fans in Ghana, which you can follow now at @GhHammers.

Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.

Tags: accraactorAfrica Cup of NationsambassadorAndr Ayewandre ayewasamoah gyanAshley FletcherAssociation footballaustraliaBeninBritsBurkina FasoCable TVcaptainCasinos & Gaming - NECchilecommissionerDaniel AmarteyDanny WelbeckFA Cup finalFashion designerfootballForeign Office in LondonghanaHigh CommissionHigh CommissionerIdris ElbaindonesiaJavier MargasJeffrey SchluppJohn PaintsilJon BenjaminJordan Ayewlaw enforcementLebanonLeicester CitylondonMajestys Governmentmedia workNational Security AdviserNew YorkOzwald Boateng,PalaceplayerPremier LeaguePrime MinisterSantiagosportsStephen AppiahswanseatogoTom FletcherturkeyUnited KingdomUnited StatesWest AfricaWest HamWest Ham United F.C.

Related News

The Top Young Players to Watch in the Premier League

The Top Young Players to Watch in the Premier League

by ghanastar
July 14, 2020
0

The 2019/20 English Premier League season comes to an end this July, with Liverpool already confirmed champions. Despite the unprecedented...

Ghana Forward Caleb Ekuban Scores for Trabzonspor’s in Loss Against Denizlispor

Ghana Forward Caleb Ekuban Scores for Trabzonspor’s in Loss Against Denizlispor

by ghanastar
July 14, 2020
0

Ghana forward Caleb Ekuban scored in the match with Denizlispor but it was not enough as Trabzonspor succumbed to a...

African NFL Players You Need to Know

African NFL Players You Need to Know

by ghanastar
June 12, 2020
0

The National Football League is the pinnacle of American football and a massive industry in the United States. The league...

Jerome Boateng Will Be a Part in Bayern Munich’s Winning Future

Jerome Boateng Will Be a Part in Bayern Munich’s Winning Future

by ghanastar
June 1, 2020
0

As rumours circulated surrounding the future of Bayern Munich’s key central defender Jerome Boateng, the man himself sets the record...

Next Post

Implement Tax Reforms As Long Term Solutions - Prof. Aryeetey

Government To Address High Cost of Internet Data

Categories

  • Africa & World
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business
  • Business Directory
  • celebrities
  • Computing
  • Diaspora
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Feature
  • Featured
  • Ghana Elections 2016
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • International
  • Internet
  • Jobs
  • lifestyle
  • Music
  • News
  • Offbeat
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Profiles
  • Religion
  • Security
  • Seth Terkper
  • Smart Home
  • Social Networks
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • World News

Tags

accra addo africa Association football Banks - NEC business Business_Finance chairman Donald Trump economy education Entertainment_Culture environment Geography of Africa ghana Ghanaian people government Government of Ghana Human Interest John Dramani Mahama john mahama Law_Crime mahama minister MPs elected in the Ghanaian parliamentary election Nana Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Nana Akufo-Addo National Democratic Congress National Democratic Congress (NDC) New Patriotic Party New Patriotic Party (NPP) nigeria politics Politics of Ghana president Social Issues Social Media Social Media & Networking sports United Kingdom United Nations United States Vice President War_Conflict

Recent Posts

  • Government of Ghana Unveils Official Portraits of President John Dramani Mahama and Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
  • Who Is the Woman (Sheena Gakpe) in Sarkodie’s Latest Hit “No Sir” and Why Everyone Is Talking about It
List of Ghana Holidays for 2020
Ghana Geocoding
Ghana Cedis Exchange API
Ghana Maps Service
Toyota Cars Auto Auction History
  • African Music Lyrics Directory
  • Business Directory
  • Diaspora
  • Top Stories

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Music

All rights reserved © 2021 GhanaStar.com