The national senior women’s football team, Black Queens, may have recorded many unfortunate results in their quest to secure qualification to the World Olympic Games since 2004. However, there appears to be a renewed hope as the Queens begin yet another journey to grab a ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games to be staged in Paris.
In 2004, the Queens missed the boat to Athens after losing 2-3 on penalties to the Super Falcons of Nigeria in the final qualifying game played in Accra. And again in 2008, Nigeria beat Ghana 2-0 in Abuja to book a place in the women’s tournament at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The losing trend continued in 2016 (Rio Olympics) and 2020 (Tokyo Olympics) after the Queens were eliminated in the qualifiers by Cameroon after a 2-2 drawn game and an agonising a 0-1 away defeat to the Harambee Starlets of Kenya respectively.
However, the Queens, both in character and word, have given assurance of their readiness to rewrite history as they take on the Syli National Women of Guinea on Friday, July 14, at the Stade General Lansana Conte in Nongo, Conakry, at 4p.m.
The last time the two teams locked horns in an Olympic qualifier in 2012, the Ghanaians won 2-0 after skipper Florence Okoe and Portia Boakye scored a goal each.
Ahead of Friday’s encounter, Swiss coach, Nora Häuptle, has assured Ghanaians that every hurdle will be surmounted this time, banking her hopes on the quality of players in camp, together with the trial matches lined up to seal the deal for the Paris Games.
“Somehow, we are going to face Zambia and Morocco who are part of the World Cup which is beginning in two weeks, so it will not be an easy route but I’m pretty convinced that with the quality of players we have and the number of matches played, we have the chance to qualify,” she said.
Credit: Graphic Online
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