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| Girl footballers cry out |
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| Posted on: 2008-Aug-01 Daily Guide |
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Young female footballers have appealed to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to give rural talents the opportunity to also justify their inclusion in the various national teams.
Captain of the Sirigu Catholic Queens, Ajara Asobo, who spoke on behalf of the other girls after a match funded by Mrs. Rebecca Akufo Addo at Nabango in the Upper East Region, said most of them have had the desire to play football since childhood and have been working towards that with all seriousness.
At the rural level, though the girls have the strength and talents, lack of proper training and development is stunting their growth in the football industry.
The above obstacles, coupled with lack of parental support and encouragement, poverty and compliance to parental orders to work on their farms, further hinder their development in the game and in most cases discourage the girls.
Sixteen-year-old Ajara, who is in Junior High School, has been playing football for the past four years; and yet she has never worn football boots.
“Throughout my four years of playing football, I have never had the opportunity to use football boots; nor been exposed to other girls and coaches apart from the usual people around me.
This is why we need frequent exposures and opportunities to train for national and regional assignments.
“I desire to play for any of the national teams and further play professional football to become a role model to other girls in my area and other villages,” Ajara said.
Coach and sole patron of the Sirigu Catholic Queens, Vitalis Amiziah said since 2003 when the team was formed, efforts to get support from the community has not been successful.
“Raising a female team in a rural area is very difficult, while circumstances around its growth could break one’s heart. It takes commitment and determination to groom rural female footballers.
Getting decent jerseys for the girls was even a problem until the Member of Parliament for the Paga-Chiana constituency, Hon. Abuga Pele, donated a set of jerseys to the team,” he said.
He appealed to the Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly to help in developing female teams in the area and sponsor tournaments to engage the girls in frequent competitions to groom them for selection into the regional and national teams.
Currently the Kassena-Nankana West District has five female teams, namely Sirigu Catholic Queens, Kandega, Mayoro, Nabango and Yua ladies football clubs.
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