Mercy Tagoe, Former Black Queens defender
Former Black Queens defender Mercy Tagoe has attributed the not so good performance of various women football teams in Ghana to the lack of attention given to women’s sports in the country.
According to her, female football teams do not get as much dedicated and resources allocated to them like is done their male counterparts.
Speaking on TV3 lifestyle program Today’s Woman on December 22, 2018, Mercy Tagoe said there is the need for various authorities to invest time and resources in the female teams, because they have as much potential as their male counterparts and could do much better than they do now.
“Women football is really growing, but there is more to be done. If the attention that is given to the men is given to the women, I believe they will do better.”
She also attributed the lack of attention to women football to the kind of culture in Ghana, where women are limited to doing certain things.
“It is our culture and belief system. They say, woman go to the kitchen, woman, stay at home and take care of the children,” she explained.
Recounting how she decided to become a footballer, the former defender said she was always surrounded by men at home since all siblings were boys, and always went out to play football with them.
She said she learned to play football from her brothers and later decided to pursue it fully as a profession, a decision her family supported despite misgivings from other people because of her gender.
The former World Cup player advised young female footballers to be persistent in pursuing their football career and not allow anyone discourage them.
