Ghana’s national under-20 women’s football team, Black Princesses, who hold a topsy-turvy group stage record at the FIFA World Cup is set for their seventh appearance this year.
Ghana, a familiar foe at the mundial is yet to make it out of the Group Stage of the biennial tournament for the first time since 2010.
The Princesses might not have been dominant at the World Cup, but their pedigree remains as one of the best sides hoping to overcome their fears after numerous attempts.
From 2010 through to 2022, Ghana had been caged in the preliminary round, securing four wins out of the total 18 matches played.
Despite the unimpressive performance, the team is still confident of changing the narrative to write their name in the history books of the competition.
With the likes of Comfort Yeboah, Mary Amponsah, Stella Nyamekye, Afi Amenyaku and some other big names, the West African giants would be in safe hands to battle for the coveted trophy.
Yussif Basigi, Head Coach of the side in an interview with the GN
A Sports said ‘We have been camping for the past three months preparing for this tournament, and I must say we have done a lot to be able to prove ourselves. The players are ready for the task ahead.’
He urged the young squad to seize the chance to make a name for themselves this time round.
The gaffer called on Ghanaians to rally behind the team as they begin their journey in the coming weeks.
Mr. Mustapha Ussif, Minister for Youth and Sports (MoYS) reiterated Government’s continious support to the team as they embark on the long journey to Colombia.
‘Everything that we are supposed to put in place, you can testify that we have done that beautifully. We took action when we had difficulties during your camp in Cape Coast to ensure that your stay there became very successful,’
‘So, as you leave the shores of our country, be rest assured that we are with you. And you are not only going there to represent yourself, neither your family or your community alone, you are representing the entire country. So, thi
s should be at the back of your minds.’
He said the Ministry, together with the Ghana Football Association would back the team with the needed logistics and finance to make their campaign smooth.
Mr. Kurt Okraku, President of the Ghana Football Association also charged the young squad to break new grounds after six previous unsuccessful attempts to advance beyond the group stage.
‘Our story is already known to Ghanaians. Our history is already known to the world. We want to make a better story or write a better story. We want a much-improved history to be made. That should be the end vision as we leave Ghana. The government has been supportive, like I said earlier, and will continue to provide all the necessary logistics that this team will need till the very end,’ He added.
He expressed confidence in the technical team who had been working tirelessly to get the Princesses in shape.
The team left the shores of Accra on Tuesday to prepare ahead of the biennial tournament scheduled for August 31 to Septemb
er 22.
Ghana will open their campaign against Austria on September 2 before taking on Japan and New Zealand in the other group E matches.
Source: Ghana News Agency