MIAMI — Ghanaian traditional priest Nana Kwaku Bonsam announced this week that he had “released” England captain Harry Kane from an alleged World Cup curse, bringing a bizarre chapter of football folklore to a close—or perhaps merely to its next headline.
Bonsam had previously claimed responsibility for Kane’s inability to score during England’s goalless draw against Ghana in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Prior to the match, the Ghanaian spiritual practitioner stated that he was working to disrupt Kane’s performance, while insisting that he did not wish the striker any physical harm. After the match ended 0-0, and after Kane missed a notable late opportunity, social media erupted with jokes that the curse had worked. Today, Bonsam publicly declared that he had lifted whatever spiritual influence he had allegedly placed upon the England captain.
🇬🇭“I am the most powerful spiritualist in the world. I am now going to release Harry Kane so that he can score in England’s next match.”
— Nana Kwaku Bonsam said as he claimed to have spiritually tied England captain Harry Kane before now “releasing” him. pic.twitter.com/YYO1fTZ6mt
— we love ghana (@weloveghana042) June 24, 2026
The story gained additional attention after videos circulated online showing a Ghanaian fan in the stands blowing an unidentified white powder into the air before a separate Ghana match. Following Ghana’s dramatic 1-0 victory over Panama on a goal scored in stoppage time, social media users jokingly connected the images to the result, posting comments such as “The magic worked” and “The ritual paid off.”
While many observers treated the incidents as little more than football humor, claims involving witchcraft, curses, spiritual protection, and ritual specialists have followed the World Cup for decades.
Bonsam himself is no stranger to such headlines. During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he claimed responsibility for Cristiano Ronaldo’s knee problems after Portugal was drawn into the same group as Ghana. Ronaldo did indeed enter the tournament carrying significant injuries, leading some media outlets to repeat Bonsam’s claims. Ronaldo ultimately played and scored against Ghana, though Portugal failed to advance beyond the group stage.
2026 FIFA World Cup emblem [fair use]
The relationship between football and spiritual practitioners extends well beyond Ghana. During the 2022 World Cup cycle, reports emerged alleging that members of Cameroon’s national team had consulted a spiritual practitioner who claimed players sought assistance both to influence opponents and secure places in the starting lineup. The allegations were strongly denied by football officials, but they generated significant discussion within African football circles.
Earlier World Cups contain similar stories. When Zaïre became the first sub-Saharan African nation to qualify for the World Cup in 1974, reports alleged that traditional spiritual advisers accompanied the team to West Germany. The tournament ended disastrously for Zaïre, which lost all three matches, including a 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia.
Cameroon has perhaps generated more World Cup folklore than any other African side. Following Cameroon’s famous 1-0 victory over defending champion Argentina in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup, striker François Omam-Biyik reportedly attributed part of the team’s success to a spiritual specialist employed by the federation. Earlier generations of Cameroonian footballers also spoke openly about traditional healers, spiritual protection, and ancestral practices associated with the national team.
Such stories are sufficiently common that football governing bodies have occasionally responded. FIFA itself does not explicitly prohibit spiritual or magical intervention and generally avoids making judgments about supernatural claims. While the words “witchcraft,” “sorcery,” and “juju” do not appear anywhere in FIFA’s Laws of the Game, officials can still penalize many activities commonly associated with ritual practices. FIFA’s regulations focus on conduct rather than beliefs, meaning that actions linked to spiritual rituals may fall afoul of existing rules governing player behavior, safety, and the integrity of competition.
In practice, however, that distinction appears to matter very little. Activities associated with witchcraft are effectively banned or penalized during FIFA-sanctioned matches under broader, existing regulations. Furthermore, regional and national federations under FIFA do have explicit rules against it.
For example, players are prohibited from bringing unauthorized objects onto the field, making the burial of charms or the placement of ritual items near goalposts a potential violation of equipment and safety regulations. Rituals that delay play, provoke opponents, or disrupt the orderly conduct of a match may be punished as unsporting behavior and can result in disciplinary sanctions, including yellow cards. More broadly, FIFA’s disciplinary code allows officials to take action against conduct that brings the game into disrepute or undermines the integrity and professional image of a match.
Regional organizations have gone further. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) prohibits ritual manipulation during matches and restricts the use of substances or ceremonial practices on the field. Rwanda’s football federation adopted explicit anti-witchcraft measures after a highly publicized incident involving a player digging up an alleged charm near an opponent’s goal during a league match.
Now for something you may not expect. Much like Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition, there is a football ministry called “Ballers for God.” Unsurprisingly, the current Kane controversy attracted its attention.
In a statement, the organization declared that “witchcraft has no place at the World Cup.” The organization criticized self-proclaimed witch doctors “claiming to use spiritual powers” to influence football matches. Apparently, supernatural assistance remains acceptable so long as it arrives through prayer, as the ministry argued that victory comes from God rather than rituals, curses, or occult practices. The ministry further encouraged Christians to respond with prayer rather than fear, emphasizing that Christians need neither charms nor counter-curses.
The significance of these recurring stories lies less in whether any curse actually affected Harry Kane and more in what they reveal about global attitudes toward witchcraft and magic. The beliefs reflected in World Cup folklore are often rooted in traditional religions, local spiritual practices, folk beliefs, and cultural understandings of ritual power that differ significantly from contemporary Pagan traditions in Europe and North America.
The reactions also serve as a reminder that many Christians continue to view witchcraft as spiritually dangerous, while having no comparable concerns about divine intervention achieved through prayer. Supernatural assistance remains perfectly acceptable provided it comes from the correct source.
Whether viewed as humor, folklore, religion, psychology, or gamesmanship, stories of magical influence continue to accompany the world’s most popular sport. Harry Kane’s alleged curse may be the latest example, but if World Cup history is any guide, it certainly won’t be the last.
Still, if divine intervention in the form of prayer is permitted, it seems only fair that the spirit world not be limited to a single team or a single goal. So, cast away. 🪄
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