What was meant to be the crowning moment of Ghana’s Black Queens’ journey to next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) has been marred by a storm over unpaid bonuses, threatening to turn celebration into chaos just hours before kick-off.
With one foot already in Morocco after a 3-0 first-leg triumph over Egypt in Ismailia last Thursday, the Queens are just 90 minutes away from confirming their 14th WAFCON appearance.
But instead of final preparations for what should have been a routine second leg at the Accra Sports Stadium tomorrow, the team have been locked in a standoff with football authorities.
Training boycott
The players, camped at the Erata Hotel in East Legon, have boycotted training since last Saturday, demanding payment of outstanding allowances and bonuses dating back to their 2024 WAFCON bronze-medal campaign.
Sources close to the team told Daily Graphic that the players only received their per diems from the last international window after the first leg in Egypt — a move that has fuelled growing resentment within the camp.
It took the intervention of Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kurt Simon-Okraku, and Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG) General Secretary, Tony Baffoe, to meet with the players in an attempt to resolve the impasse.
However, as of yesterday night, the stand-off remained unresolved, with the squad insisting they would not train until they hear directly from the Ministry of Sports and
Recreation, which in July promised to settle the arrears — said to be around $9,000 per player — within two weeks. That promise, however, remains unfulfilled.
Until this protest, the Queens had been in buoyant spirits, rallying support on social media and urging fans to fill the Accra Sports Stadium to cheer them on, just as they do for the Black Stars.
But the mood has since soured, with the bonus dispute casting a long shadow over what should have been a joyous finale to a resurgent campaign.
Comfortable lead
The first-leg heroines, Doris Boaduwaa, Mary Amponsah and Grace Asantewaa, who scored in Ismailia, had done all the heavy lifting, leaving only the formality of the return leg to seal qualification.
