Black Maidens head coach Joe Nana Adarkwa says the WAFU B U17 Girls Cup will be used as a key stepping stone towards the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, with his side aiming to retain its regional crown while building a stronger squad for the global stage.
The Black Maidens begin their title defence against Burkina Faso women’s national under-17 football team on Tuesday, 16 September, in a revamped round-robin tournament following Benin’s withdrawal.
Speaking before Ghana’s opening fixture, Adarkwa stressed that the competition was about more than lifting another trophy, describing it as an opportunity to evaluate his players against some of West Africa’s strongest teams ahead of the World Cup.
“We are here to compete for the World Cup,” Adarkwa said.
“We are going to use this tournament to assess our players, prepare them and go into the World Cup in a way that will give us a good result.”
Ghana arrives as the defending champion after winning the previous edition on home soil, but Adarkwa believes maintaining that status will require continued improvement.
“We are here to compete with the best teams like Nigeria and all the other teams here,” he said.
“If you want to compete with the best, you have to strengthen your team.”
The coach said the responsibility of defending the title had further raised the team’s confidence and motivation.
“Everything is high because we are defending champions. The last one we played in Ghana, we won it, so the spirit is already high. We are here to defend it.”
Captain Seidatu Wahab echoed her coach’s confidence, insisting the squad had adopted a winning mentality ahead of its opening game.
“We are here to defend the trophy, as my coach said, so we have a positive mindset of winning tomorrow’s game,” she said.
Wahab said the team’s preparations since securing qualification had left the players ready to challenge for another regional title.
“With the training we have had since our qualifiers, we are strong and ready for this tournament,” she added.
“I believe in my teammates. We know what we can do, and that’s why we are here.”
Following Benin’s withdrawal, Ghana will now face Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo, Niger and Côte d’Ivoire in a single round-robin format.
