The sudden unveiling of the tournament mascot, Agro Hemaa (to wit; Queen of the game), at the Alisa Hotel in Accra on Friday night was so timely and refreshing as it emerged as a swift reaction to CAF's endorsement of Ghana as the host of the competition earlier in the day.
Apart from everything, CAF's reason to retain Ghana as the host of the biennial competition made a lot of sense since the just constituted Normalisation Committee (NC) needed time to adjust to the demands in hosting such a tournament, alongside the LOC.
Indeed, as CAF rightly acknowledged, Ghana Football has not been enjoying the best of times since June.
Beyond that, the LOC, chaired by Madam Freda Prempeh, and featuring veterans such as Rex Magnus Danquah and a former Ghana Football Association (GFA) scribe, Mr Kofi Nsiah, deserves some plaudits for the timing of the unveiling. The coincidence, whether planned or accidental, was quite remarkable.
The event, which was graced by the Sports Minister, Isaac Asiamah, and the main actors of the tournament from the Ghanaian perspective - the Black Queens - did not only clear the thick cloud of anxiety and gloom which hanged over the nation but also ended the loud silence which characterized the hosting.
The spectacular unveiling of the Agro Hemaa only signaled some more surprises which the LOC might have up its sleeves to whip up interest in the tournament between now and the start of the main show on November 17. Of course, more activations like that will be required, especially at the tournament two venues - Accra and Cape Coast - to create the euphoria needed to attract the fans to patronise the two-week soccer fiesta.
Thumbs up to the organisers for choosing the capital, Accra, and the old capital, cape Coast, both of which will offer the numerous guests and participating teams numerous sight-seeing alternatives. Besides that the capacity to host such a competition is not in doubt whatsoever.
Unlike the Accra Stadium (now undergoing renovation) which has hosted many high profile matches, including the Ghana '99 Africa U-20 Championship and Ghana 2008 AFCON, the new Cape Coast Stadium has become the new haven for our national teams in recent times.
That excellent Chinese piece of architecture passed the test with full marks when Ghana hosted and won an eight-nation WAFU Cup tournament last year.
Perhaps that could be a prelude to Ghana's first-ever women's AFCON glory on home soil after missing the trophy in 12 previous attempts in enemy territory.
Come to think of it, the Black Queens, Ghana's representatives for the November 17 to December 1 tournament, made their intentions clear when they won the maiden edition of the Women's WAFU tournament in February this year at the expense of host nation, Cote d'Ivoire.
Before then, the Queens, led by a former player, Coach Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo, had broken the jinx against 10-time AWCON champions, Nigeria, after beating them 5-4 on penalties, following a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time.
If that feat is a yardstick to measure the Queens' chances come November-December, then Ghanaians should be ready to savour their maiden AWCON glory. This is against the backdrop that the Super Falcons of Nigeria have often been the Achiles heel of the Queens since the inception of the competition in 1991.
The Falcons' dominance remained unchallenged till 2008 when an emerging force, Equatorial Guinea, broke the monopoly with a host-and-win performance to the surprise of many.
As if to say that record was no fluke, Equatorial Guinea repeated the dose on home soil, again in 2012, to establish itself as the second force.
With defending champions, Nigeria, coming to Ghana alongside Equatorial Guinea, and other heavyweights like Cameroun and South Africa, the Queens will have quite a challenge to deal with as far as the host-and-win dream is concerned. But taking a cue from newcomer, Equatorial Guinea, with the backing of Ghanaians, Coach Bashir Hayford and his girls cannot afford to let the nation down.
This is your moment, Black Queens, seize it and make the most out of it. Read Full Story
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