Minister commends Black Stars, Maidens

Clement Kofi Humado, Minister of Youth and Sports has congratulated the Black Stars and Black Maidens on their achievements over the weekend.

The Black Stars sealed qualification to the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Malawi 1-0 last Saturday in Lilongwe to advance 3-0 on aggregate whilst the Maidens claimed bronze at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, beating Germany by a lone goal.

In a statement, the Minister said: “This achievement by the Maidens who played a major part of the game with ten (10) players shows how determined and strong willed Ghanaian women are.

“It is a milestone in the development of women football in Ghana and Africa. I believe this valiant performance by these girls will inspire the other female national teams to do well in subsequent world tournaments.

“I also congratulate the Black Stars for qualifying to AFCON 2013 by beating their Malawian counterparts on Saturday 13 October, 2012 in Malawi.”

Meanwhile, the Maidens are expected to arrive on Monday evening at 19h00 GMT from Azerbaijan.

The achievement of the Maidens is the first by any national women’s team at a major global tournament.