Women’s 2018 AFCON: Hayford to name provisional squad
Black Queens coach, Bashir Hayford, is expected to submit his provisional squad of 30 players for the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations to the Confederation of Africa (CAF) by Friday.
That means the 24 players currently in camp will be joined by some foreign-based players.
The Queens coach will get the opportunity to assess the foreign-based players before naming his final 21-member squad for the tournament in the first week of November.
The foreign-based players could not join their home-based colleagues in time due to their clubs’ insistence in releasing them only two weeks to the tournament scheduled for November 17 to December 1.
The players in camp now are: Goalkeepers: Patricia Mantey (Immigration Ladies), Nana Ama Asantewaa (Police Ladies), Fafali Duhemasi (Police Ladies) and Azume Adams.
Defenders: Priscilla Lartey (Valued Girls), Gladys Amfobea (LadyStrikers), Linda Addae (Soccer Intellectuals), Philicity Asuako (Police Ladies) and Veronia Darkwa.
Midfielders: Perpetual Agyekum (Hasaacas Ladies), Rita Okyere (Prisons Ladies), Ellen Ampong (Sea Lions), Juliet Acheampong (Prisons Ladies), Leticia Zikpi (Immigration Ladies), Alberta Asante (Police Ladies), Grace Asantewaa, Diana Wiege (Halifax Ladies).
Forwards: Lily Niber-Lawrence (Hasaacas Ladies), Gifty Appiah (Immigration Ladies), Jane Ayeyiam Akalachiba (Police Ladies).
The foreign-based players who have arrived are Alice Kusi (Zouk Mosbeh Girls FC), Janet Egyir (Aftuklding FC, Iceland), Linda Eshun (Grindavik FC, Iceland) and Elizabeth Addo (Seattle Reign FC, USA).
Faustina Ampah (FC Minsk, Belarus), Portia Boakye, Priscilla Okyere (ZFK Spartak Subotica, Serbia), Sandra Owusu-Ansah (Zouk Mosbeh Girls FC), Priscilla Eghan (Cyprus), Faustina Kyeremeh (Immigration), Elizabeth Owusuaa (Sea Lions), Samira Suleman, Sherifatu and Wasila Diwura Soale are expected to arrive by the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Ellen Coleman, Edem Atovor, Rosemary Ampem, Mary Essiful and Ernestina Tetteh, who began the preparations with the Queens, will miss out after securing foreign deals, while LadyStrikers’ Ruth Appiah has also asked to be exampted from national duties so she can complete her final year course at the University of Cape Coast.
Ghana are paired in Group A with Algeria, Mali and Cameroun, while defending champions, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Kenya are in Group B.