Women’s football started in the late sixties as some sort of fun and leisure sport by a particular breed of ladies generally regarded by men as tough skinned. Football was then regarded as man’s game and ladies who opted to plat it were regarded as such. Ladies football started in the cities,notably Kumasi as Sunday morning recreation that usually ended with good natured chats over food and drinks.

As more ladies got interested in the game there soon sprang clubs pioneered by former national athlete Habiba Attah’s Kotoko Ladies Club in Kumasi. Some clubs were also formed in Accra and as interest in the game soared, women football ultimately gained official recognition. After a lot of variations in management we now have a Women’s League Board under the auspices of the Ghana Football Association.

The growth of the game in Ghana owes much thanks to the Ghana Posts and Telecom Company for their widespread sponsorship including the formation of the now very powerful Ghatel Ladies Football Club. The sponsorship helped to attract more ladies to the sport which had then begun to attract worldwide attention. Indeed close neighbours, Nigeria had already taken the lead in Africa by even organizing a national league.

Taking inspiration from Nigeria, Ghana intensified efforts to spread the game and ably supported by Ghana Posts Company two regional leagues were established in Ashanti and Greater Accra. This caught on well and when Ghana decided to enter the novelty Africa Cup of Nations in 1998 the ladies made such a great impact that was good enough to qualify them for the then recently established Women’s World Cup in the United States of America in 1999.

Since then Ghana has qualified for two more World Cups in 2003 and 2007 plus five more Africa Cup appearances in 2000,2002,2004,2006 ,2008. However the truth of the matter is that despite all these numerous appearances at the Africa and World Cup stage our ladies have fallen short of the high standard expected at such high profile games .It is evident that most of the players rely on their native intelligence and strength rather than any scientific football prowess. Very few display real football skills and the reason is that they did not start learning the alphabets of the game from scratch and with age catching up on them the future of the game in Ghana could be gloomy.

It is with this background that the sports authorities should be congratulated for their bold decision to concentrate on nursery groups for the seniors the Black Queens. We now have the Under-20 side called the Black Princesses and the Under 17, the Black Maidens, who are currently giving a good impression of themselves at the ongoing junior world cup in New Zealand.

The Maidens drew 1-1 with North Korea in their first match and lost 3-2 to Germany in the second match. The young girls have so far displayed a real fighting spirit and the knack to score goals which is the essence of football. In the match against Korea they fought back to draw 1-1 and against Germany when trailing 3-1 they gallantly fought for a second goal but were most unlucky not to get the vital equalizer. From all indications they have a bright future and it won’t be a surprise if they beat Costa Rica in their last qualifying match on Tuesday Nov 4 to enter the next round of the championships.

The Maidens are yet to take the lead in any of their two matches so far and it is my expectation that they will oblige this time. If they do I am sure they will not behave like Manchester United who took their recent English premier league match against newcomers Hull City for a joke and nearly paid dearly for their folly.

Reports say the early goal in the third minute by Ronaldo gave United the false impression that it would be an easy pay day. Even though City equalized midway through the second half the additional two goals by Ronaldo and Carrick put Manchester United 3-1 at half time and it gave them the licence to fool around. Indeed the laxity got worse when Vidic made it 4-1 just after the recess. Goalkeeper Van der Saar must have been enjoying the antics of his colleagues in front of him when he abandoned the posts only for the ball to be lobbed over his head. Vidic almost pulled off a brilliant clearance but the assistant referee ruled that the ball crossed the line.

When Ronaldo and Co decided to make amends Ferdinand who the other day nearly gave a goal away cheaply in the match against Everton with a terrible back pass to the goalie, committed another blunder in the box and Hull City got an unusual third goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Many admirers of United worldwide have expressed surprise that United with their massive experience should behave as if a game is over when we have more than thirty minutes to go.

I am happy that Al Ahly of Egypt did not behave like United when they took an early lead against Coton club of Cameroon in the Africa Champions league final first leg match in Cairo on Sunday. The Egyptians, bent on proving that they are best club in Africa added a second and never relented in their attacks. They absorbed the spasmodic pressure from Coton and gave out their best. There is no doubt the final match in Cameroon will be of similar high standard. This was real battle of nerves and sinews and it was no wonder that either side could not jubilate after the match. Much as a 2-0 first leg win cannot be all that a comfortable margin Coton also realise that Al Ahly is not a side that can easily concede three goals without reply. It is going to be tough in all respects.

Can the second leg produce as many goals like we have in the English league? Chelsea v Sunderland producing five goals and Manchester United v Hull City seven goals. A friend asked the other day whether the high tally of goals in the English premiership could be blamed on a weak defence or it shows that the strikers are sharper. What do you say?