Black Princesses
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) says the creation of five new women's national teams, is to provide more opportunities for talented players to showcase their skills and progress to higher levels of competition.
Henry Asante Twum, the Director of Communications at the GFA, highlighted the reasoning behind this decision, noting that many talented players often miss out on the chance to transition to the senior women's national team, the Black Queens.
This gap led to the expansion of the national team structure to include nine categories.
"We've got Black Maidens, which is the U17, Black Princesses, which is the U20, and the Senior National Team, which is the Black Queens," Asante Twum explained in an interview with Daily Guide Network TV. "In between these three national teams, we realize that we lose a lot of talent, you know, whilst these players are transitioning from one team to the other."
To address this issue and provide a structured pathway for player development, the GFA introduced the U16 national team among others. The Executive Council recognised the importance of starting early in nurturing talent, hence the creation of this new category.
Following the establishment of these new teams, the GFA swiftly appointed coaches to lead each side. Notably, former Black Queens coach Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo has been appointed to lead the U-23 team, demonstrating the GFA's commitment to ensuring experienced leadership across all levels of the women's national teams.
The creation of these new national teams signals the GFA's dedication to providing equal opportunities for all talented female footballers in Ghana, fostering a more inclusive and competitive environment for women's football development in the country.
