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Despite the many doubts surrounding the role of superstition in modern football, recent happenings lend credence to the fact that a good number of athletes and teams actually believe in its potency and efficacy. In recent times, football competitions do not go by without a supernatural and spiritual connection being attached to it. The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil begins in the next 24 hours, but even before the competition starts, superstition has taken centre stage. One of Ghana�s famous witch doctors, Kwaku Bonsam sparked controversy and gained global attention last week when he publicly declared that he is responsible for Cristiano Ronaldo�s recent injury woes. Cristiano Ronaldo has been frustrated by injuries as Portugal prepares for the World Cup. He was unable to play in their friendly against Greece due to a thigh strain. After Portugal and Ghana were put in Group G, together with Germany and the USA, Kwaku Bonsam vowed he would prevent Ronaldo from playing by "inflicting him with a severe injury." �I know what Cristiano Ronaldo�s injury is about; I�m working on him,� Bonsam, who serves at the �Kofioo Kofi� shrine, said in an interview with Kumasi-based Angel FM. After Kwaku Bonsam�s claims, another witch doctor based in Portugal, Mel Sigurson also told a local radio station in Portugal that he caused Akaminko�s injury�and that three more Ghanaian players will be injured. This is how extreme superstition and rituals can go in the modern sports. In the last edition of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 hosted in South Africa, the biggest star of the tournament was arguably the German octopus called Paul. Octopus Paul, as it was commonly called, was used as an animal oracle that predicted international matches which usually involved Germany, and attained worldwide attention with his accurate predictions. The Octopus was presented with two boxes containing food, each marked with the flag of a national football team in an upcoming match. He chose the box with the flag of the winning team. Octopus Paul accurately predicted victory for teams and became instant sensation. With the 2014 World Cup kicking off tomorrow, three other animal predictors have also resurfaced from Germany, China and the Arabian. From Germany, another oracle - Nelly the Elephant - is believed to be the successor of Octopus Paul for the 2014 World Cup season in Brazil. From one kick of the soccer ball to the next, Nelly the Elephant is believed to hit the ball into a net representing the team she predicts to be the match winner. It has been said that Nelly predicted 30 of 33 results correctly in 2006 for the women's World Cup, the men's World Cup in 2010, and then the 2012 European Championships. Another animal oracle is a super cute Chinese panda that is set to become the star of the World Cup � by predicting the outcome of matches during the tournament. According to reports from China, the unnamed cub from the Sichuan province has accepted an invitation to guess the outcome of matches across the whole tournament in Brazil. The big kick-off is just a few hours away and the panda is gunning for Paul�s crown and will reportedly decide on which team will win by climbing a tree with that nation�s flag attached. The animal oracle psychic is Shaheen, a camel from the deep deserts of Dubai that is also willing to carry forward the legacy of Paul the Octopus. Shaheen was discovered by a videographer and, as reported by the website, the camel has accepted the invitation to predict the result of matches. Shaheen will have to face tough competition from a group of cute panda cubs from Sichuan province, China, and Nelly, the German elephant, in order to become the next animal oracle for the World Cup. The elephant and the camel will predict the winner of individual matches by kicking a ball into one of two nets with national flags of the playing countries. From the outside, it may seem odd; however, in all sports, superstitions and rituals are widespread and a very common practice. In fact, for some players these superstitions and rituals may actually have an impact and influence on their success during the event. According to the Oxford dictionary, a superstition is a widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences. It may be wearing the same boots or socks, sporting a beard, or praying to the Almighty. Every human is unique, and thus superstitions also vary from person to person. There are those who believe in the potency and efficacy of superstition and those who disregard it.