Parliament congratulates Black Queens

Accra, July 14, GNA - Parliament on Wednesday congratulated the national women's soccer team, the Black Queens, for participating in the just-ended Women's World Cup tournament held in the USA.

Members called for a national women's league to broaden the selection base of the team, as talents abound in the regions.

''On behalf of the house, I wish to extend our warmest felicitations and congratulations to the Black Queens for the honour done to Ghana'', the Speaker, Mr Justice Daniel Francis Annan, said.

This followed a congratulatory statement by Mr Moses Mabengba Bukari, chairman of the house committee on Youth and Sports. Members noted that the team could not reach the medal zone due to fatigue and lack of stamina, and called for serious training and the constant exposure of national teams before international tournaments.

They commended the standard of play and skills exhibited by all the teams, mentioning in particular Memunatu Sulemana, Ghana's goalkeeper, for being one of the best 'keepers of the tournament.

Mr Mabengba said the Black Queens deserve commendation for making appearance at such a prestigious tournament, and selling Ghana's brand of football to the world.

Mr Mabengba, who is also the NDC member for Saboba, was of the view that fatigue, as well as bad officiating, took a heavy toll on the African representatives (Ghana/Nigeria), since they had to travel long distances to honour their matches.

He appealed to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to make a strong representation to FIFA to address such lapses in future. The MP explained that the changing of venues favoured certain teams, while it was disadvantageous to others, adding:

''FIFA's 'Fair Play' in my opinion was put to serious test during the tournament. FIFA is not fair in its operations.'' He expressed his appreciation to Mr Kobby Koomson, Ghana's Ambassador to the USA, and the Ghanaian community for contributing 30,000 dollars to the Black

Mr Malik Alhassan Yacubu, NPP-Yendi, noted that the expertise and finesse displayed by the women is an indication that women's soccer is in no way inferior to that of men.

He stressed the need for the country to invest in the training of teams for international tournaments, adding that ''Ghana's team did not lose because the players were inferior; the determinant factor was speed and stamina''.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Marfo, NPP-Akim Oda, said bad officiating in Ghana's first match was meant to demoralise the team and called on the organisers to address the recurrence of that problem.

He said aside of this, the technical staff needed to read the matches well to avoid the poor performance of the team in the second half of all the matches.

There were contributions from Mrs Margaret Clarke Kwesie, Minister of State, Mrs Gladys Asmah, deputy Minority leader, Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idriss, minority spokesman on Youth and Sports, and Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bunso, NPP-Old Tafo Suame.

While congratulating the team, they called on the authorities to give serious thought to developing women's soccer in the regions and to professional level.

Mr Kedem expressed disappointment with the behaviour of the two members of the team who absconded after the tournament, saying steps should be taken to ensure it does not happen again.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bunso said it was clear that the USA "over-exploited its incumbency and host status, and this should not be the case even in politics".

He spoke against favouritism in the selection of players, and cited the case of goalkeeper Memunatu who, he said, would have been dropped from the team but for the plea from the public.

The Women's World Cup, dubbed USA '99, the third in the series organised by FIFA, ended last Saturday at the Rose Bowl Stadium with Team USA emerging champions. Ghana entered as debutants, while Nigeria made her third appearance.

The Black Queens held Australia to a drawn game in their first match and lost to China and Sweden in subsequent matches.