Queens to assemble soon

THE Chairman of the Women’s Football Committee, DSP Helena Cobbina, has indicated that the national female team, the Black Queens, will be assembled soon to prepare for the third Africa Women’s Championship in Nigeria next November.

According to her, the team’s main target will be to ensure a second World Cup qualification by picking one of the two tickets allotted to Africa.

Revealing this to the Daily Graphic in an interview last Wednesday, the chairman said that the Queens will then use the global platform as a launching pad to secure the sole Olympic Games slot which is the ultimate.

She noted that the preoccupation of the committee is to revamp the team following the exit of some key players. The players, who, she said, might not feature again for the Queens due to various reasons include Alberta Sackey, Vivian Mensah, Stella Quartey, Priscilla Mensah, Kuulu Yahya (all of whom are in the United States) and Elizabeth Baidoo and Adwoa Bayor, who are expected to join the exodus bandwagon soon. “In the light of this, there is the need to inject some fresh blood into the team for the challenges ahead”, she stressed.

To achieve this aim, she hinted that the technical team of the Queens headed by Rev Osei Kofi, will soon embark on a nationwide tour to select young talented players.

She also emphasised that the exercise will be very detailed to ensure that all the regions are covered.

To further underline the committee’s commitment to the development of women soccer in the country, she revealed that a ¢390m budget for the year has been forwarded to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for approval.

She, therefore, appealed to individuals and corporate entities, especially women entrepreneurs, to come to their aid through sponsorship.