President of the Ghana Football Association Kurt Okraku has delivered a message of support for the Black Princesses ahead of the upcoming Women’s U20 World Cup.
The Black Princesses, making their seventh consecutive World Cup appearance, have been drawn into Group E. They will face a challenging group with Austria, familiar opponents New Zealand, and favourites Japan, making their path to advancing from the group stage a tough one.
Past performances have been disappointing as the Black Princesses failed to advance beyond the group stage in the last six editions. To improve this time, they will need to bring more energy and determination.
In 2018, Ghana finished third in their group behind France and the Netherlands, securing only a single win against fourth-placed New Zealand. In the 2022 edition, the Black Princesses finished last in their group, losing all their matches.
From 2014 to 2022, the Black Princesses have won only three of their 12 World Cup matches.
These performances have propelled the FA President to sound a message of caution to the girls ahead of the games.
Speaking at a press briefing in Sunyani, President Kurt Okraku called on the playing body to do their very best to ensure they do better than the previous six editions.
“On the sixth consecutive times that we’ve been to the World Cup, we’ve not gone beyond the group stages.
“This year, the vision is very clear, we’re going to the competition and we must better our performances,” he said.
The Ghana Football Association President also revealed how they’ve provided the players the needed support ahead of the games.
“We’ve given the team all the support that they need, we believe they are a good team, we believe that the technical team are well on course to deliver” he added.
The Princesses are currently camping in Cape Coast before the tournament commences on August 31, 2024, and would hope they can put the past experiences to bed.
