Sports
Black Queens get new Head Coach
Swedish Football Coach, Kim Lars Björkegren, has been appointed new Head Coach of the Senior National Female team, the Black Queens.
He replaces erstwhile Coach, Nora Hauptle, whose contract with the GFA expired at the end of December 2024.
Kim Lars Björkegren started out as a footballer and played for his community club in Ljungsbro, later featuring for Allsvenska Åtvidabergs FF (Swedish First Division club at the time).
An injury he sustained at the age of 22 put an end to his football career and he chose to pursue a career in Coaching.
In a career covering 18 years, Kim, now a UEFA License A Coach, has gained significant experience and success coaching in Sweden and other countries. Kim’s successes include his winning the Cyprus top Women’s league with Apollon Ladies as well as the Damallsvenskan (Swedish Women’s top league) with Linkopings FC. In the 2020-2021 season, he was adjudged the Coach of the season in Cyprus.
Kim holds the joint record with the renowned Sven Goran Eriksson as being the second Swedish manager to win two domestic titles in two different countries.
Kim Björkegren worked with the Finland Women’s National Team as a Scout and Analyst.
He has also coached Beijing BG Phoenix in the Chinese Super League (placing third in both the Chinese Women’s FA Cup and Super Cup in 2018) and has worked as Technical Director of Manila Digger FC of the Philippines. Kim also coached a number of male teams at various levels of the Swedish Football League system.
Most recently, Kim has been manager of Racing Louisville in the National Women’s Soccer League of the United States of America [USA].
Kim’s philosophy of football is to play possessive attacking, purposeful and entertaining football, utilizing the skills of his players in the best possible way, thus making him a flexible and adaptable Coach.
He places a lot of emphasis on discipline, team organization, hard work, teamwork, dynamism and flexibility. This philosophy merges well with Ghana’s football philosophy.
With his coaching experience in Women’s Football, coupled with a background in Education and Sports Psychology, Kim Björkegren is viewed by the GFA as the ideal choice to take over the coaching reins of the Black Queens and lead them to greater heights.
GFA COMMUNICATIONS
Ashantigold SC has terminated the contracts of three members of its technical team with immediate effect.
The affected officials are head coach and technical director Abdul Karim Zito, assistant coach Ernest Okyere, and goalkeepers’ trainer Robert Dabo.
The decision was announced in a statement signed by the club’s Chief Executive Officer, Edward Kwasi Akuoko.
According to the statement, the decision was taken following a consultative meeting by the Interim Management Committee on Monday, October 26, 2026.
The club says a caretaker coach has been appointed to steer the affairs of the team until a substantive coach/technical director is appointed.
Management expressed gratitude to the affected officials for their contribution and service to the team and wished them well in their future endeavours.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
England captain Harry Kane says it was extra special to be presented with the Ballon d’Or by one of his childhood idols.
Kane made the comment after receiving the prestigious award from former Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario.
“Ronaldo was one of my idols growing up,” Kane said.
The Bayern Munich striker described the moment as surreal, being honoured by a player he looked up to as a young footballer.
Kane was announced as the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner on Monday, October 26, at the London Palladium, marking the 70th anniversary of the award and the first time the ceremony was held outside France.
The 33-year-old beat stiff competition from second-placed Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal to win his first ever Ballon d’Or.
He becomes the first Englishman to win the coveted individual award in 25 years since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fifth Englishman ever after Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.
He is also the first Bayern Munich player to win the award since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
Kane won the award after a remarkable season in which he scored 61 goals in 51 club matches, the most a Bayern player has ever scored in one campaign.
Including England matches, it was 73 goals plus eight assists in 65 matches. His 73 goals is the second-highest single-season total ever behind Lionel Messi’s 82 in 2011-12.
Despite the goal haul, Kane did not win the Champions League or World Cup, with Bayern losing 6-5 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals and England losing 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final before finishing third.
The award was presented by Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner himself, adding what was described as a special dimension to Kane’s historic achievement.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
