The only national team making Ghana proud at the moment is Nora Huptle’s Black Queens.
The Black Queens have impressed since the Swiss manager took over from Mercy Tagoe-Quaicoo in February 2023.
11 matches have been played under Nora Huptle’s tutelage, 10 wins and 1 defeat. 34 goals are scored and just two are conceded – all against Namibia in the 2024 WAFCON qualifiers.
A place in the semi-final of the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris for Women’s football is at stake as Ghana squares off against the remarkable Copper Queens of Zambia at the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday in the first leg.
How much is the Ministry owing them?
The Queens are owed qualification bonuses from two rounds of qualifying in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifiers and the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations Qualifiers.
They have only been settled for the two-legged affair over Guinea (Olympic Qualifier) while bonuses from wins over Benin (Olympic Qualifier), Rwanda and Namibia – WAFCON Qualifiers, have not been resolved.
“Respect them and pay them !! They have gone all out all this while! They have done a fantastic job ..players, coach and the technical team. The match against Zambia is crucial ..respect them and pay them !!!”, wrote Tony Baffoe on Twitter. The former Black Stars defender fired the Sports Ministry for failing to pay the women for their efforts and urged them to settle our dear women.
Per Afua Empress, the Queens are thinking of boycotting the clash against Zambia on Friday unless their monies are paid by the Sports Ministry.
Each Black Queens player is owed $7,500 from six qualifying games. Namibia, Benin and Rwanda (all home and away fixtures) are the games the ladies have honoured but have not been paid.
It’s utterly disrespectful and sickening
Why have Ghana developed the attitude of only respecting the Black Stars at the expense of other teams and athletes? The Black Stars are paid before they even kick a ball but why can’t we pay these young women for them to also settle their families and loved ones?
They have sacrificed a lot by travelling from all corners of the world just to come and raise high the flag of Ghana only to be ignored and disrespected by the Sports Ministry.
GFA EXCO Members get $100k each for not doing anything for Ghana but our beautiful Queens are not getting what they have worked for.
Will it affect the Black Queens ahead of the Zambia clash?
We have already unsettled them against the Copper Queens on Friday. This is a fixture that needs 500% attention because Zambia is a Grade A team.
The Copper Queens before the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia-New Zealand defeated Germany 3-2 in a friendly game but were beaten by Spain (5-0), Japan (5-0) and Costa Rica (3-1) in the World Cup. This shows how incredible they can be.
Probably we have not measured how dangerous the Zambians are. They boast of the ever-impressive Barbara Banda and Rachael Kundananji- the most expensive female footballer ever.
We have been preaching women’s empowerment but we are not helping ourselves to achieve that goal. The promises have been more but empty. Time for us to settle them and cheer them up.
Black Queens of Ghana will host the Copper Queens of Zambia on Friday at 5 pm in Accra at the Accra Sports Stadium for the first leg of the Paris 2024 Olympics Games qualifiers.
