Yussif Basigi is confident that the Black Princesses will put up a good performance in the 13th African Games, Accra 2023. The Princesses will compete in the Women's Football event while the Black Satellites takes part in the Men's Football event - in the Games scheduled from Friday, March 8- Saturday, March 23, 2024.
Ghana recently defeated Senegal over two legs to qualify for a 7th consecutive FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Columbia having beaten Nigeria to win the maiden edition of the WAFU B U-20 Women's Cup of Nations in June last year.
In this interview with ghanafa.org, Yussif Basigi touched on preparations for the Games, the inclusion of Mukarama Abdulai, target and pressure to deliver.
Here is everything he had to say:
On preparation and players who are yet to report
Preparation is going on well but we are expecting some few players who are with the Black Queens and Ampem Darkoa Ladies to join us. The rest of the players in camp are working very hard and those away are also training and in shape. We are waiting for them to come back so we get them together to get the core of the team.
On targets
We are targeting the ultimate. Every team going into a competition, that’s the target and the Princesses is no exception. We won’t underestimate any country because all are equally good and coming with the same aim. Our aim is higher because we are eyeing this as a target and preparation towards the World Cup.
On pressure on the team to deliver
There is no pressure when you have good players in the team even though the dynamics of the game keeps changing. I don’t have any pressure going into this tournament. We will take it one game at a time.
On Mukarama
Mukarama’s inclusion is very good for the fact that aside her performance, she’s a team player and unifier as well as message conveyer. Her presence will motivate the players enough to work hard, she also brings experience to the team.
On support
We will count on Ghanaians support during this tournament. They should come to the stadium in their numbers and support us with prayers as well.
The Black Princesses will kick off their campaign against Ethiopia on Saturday, March 9, at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium before playing against Tanzania and Uganda in the other Group A matches.
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