“Ghana must qualify for the Women’s World Cup” – Andre Ayew urges Black Queens after WAFCON bronze medal feat

Former Ghana senior men’s national team team captain André Ayew has urged the women’s national team to strive for a better performance and qualify for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup to be hosted in Brazil.

The former Olympique Marseille forward made the statement following the team’s bronze medal winning feat at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The Black Queens, who made a jerky start in the group stage by losing 2-0 to South Africa before recovering to draw 1-1 against Mali, bounced back with a resounding 4-1 victory over Tanzania in the third game.

The team followed up with a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Algeria in the knockout phase before falling by the same fate to hosts Morocco in the semifinals, dropping to fight for the bronze medal against South Africa.

Ghana triumphed via the penalty shootout – beating Banyana Banyana 4-2 to claim third place. Ayew took advantage of the team’s meeting with the President of Ghana, H E John Mahama, to praise the Black Queens performance.

“Ghanaians really love football, but what you’ve achieved goes beyond just the sport, you’ve made a name for yourselves. I didn’t know some of you before, but now I see how great you all are. This is just the beginning.”

“This is just the start. I urge you to do better in the next tournament and qualify for the World Cup.”

The Black Queens repeated the historic feat achieved in 2016 where they defeated South Africa by 1-0 in third place at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Cameroon.