Sports Features of Monday, 24 June 2013

Source: Sammy Heywood Okine

Priscilla Okyere focused on education and sports

Sport Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) 2012 Female footballer of the year, Priscilla Okyere has disclosed that her focus for now is mainly on her education and wants to go as far as to the university level and possibly become a professional in future.

The Kumasi Wesley Girls SHS student who is reading Arts said she has not yet decided what career to take but she wants to go to school as an occupation and play football for fitness and leisure.

Speaking to yours truly at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra, Okyere who is an attacking midfielder for the national under 17 team, the Black Maidens and Fabulous Ladies Football Club in Kumasi hinted that she wants to continue her education in the United States of America (USA) if the opportunity comes, because most American ladies play football and they have the best of female players in the world.

The skipper of the Maidens who were the first African female team to reach the medal zone of a FIFA organized competition said female players ought to be given the same publicity given to their male counterparts and rewarded when they deserve.

The soft spoken girl who has been voted Female Footballer of the year and nominated for the Sports Personality of the year together with Juventus and Black Stars midfielder, Kwadwo Asamoah noted that she deserves to win the sports personality award as she and the Maidens made a record for Africa and they defeated strong contenders like Japan and shocked Germany with ten girls for the bronze medals at the 2012 FIFA under 17 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

She thanked her coaches at Fabulous Ladies and Didi Dramani, the Maiden coach who groomed her to become a world star at 16 years.

Okyere was also grateful to the SWAG for recognizing her exploits and naming her for the highest awards. She chosed Martin Amoah, former Black Stars striker and Zinedine Zidane of France as her best players and idols. She scored seven goals during Ghana’s campaign in the FIFA under 17 Female World Cup, three of them are special because they were scored at the finals. She adviced her mates to take education and sports very serious since they can never tell when the opportunities will come.