At the heart of the Ghana squad that competed in the just ended TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2024 in Morocco is the understanding that the current generation stands on the shoulders of giants.

The Ghanaians are one of the most recognisable nations at the helm of African Football.

As far back as the 1990s, Ghana was vying for a place on the global stage when FIFA introduced the Women’s World Cup. A generation of strong-willed women across Ghana came together to wear the famous red, yellow and green and start the chronicles of the Black Queens.

Memories from the 90s

This section of history cannot be written without documenting the tale of one of Ghana’s finest footballers to ever wear national colours – Grace Adjoa Bayor. A name that exudes excellence, longevity and overall success in Ghana, Africa and across the world.

“When I was younger, I used to play football with men and then someone saw me and encouraged me to join Ghana Telecom. This was in 1990,” Adjoa reminscences in an exclusive interview with CAFOnline. “At Ghana Telecom, we enjoyed playing small-sided games from around 1pm in the afternoon at the iconic Mamprobi Indafa Park at Mamprobi, Accra.

This was together with some eventual Ghanaian greats in the skin of Genevieve Clottey, Lydia Ankrah and Sheilla Okine. “These games helped to improve our skills. This organized football surprised me in a good way and excited me. Honestly, I was happy to be playing football. I was very small, very little. I was around 11 years at the time.”

Bayor’s quick growth ensured that she competed in the inter-regional gala competition whilst featuring for Greater Accra. This was organized by the Ghana Football Association and it involved teams from across the country like Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, Takoradi to mention but a few. It is from this competition that the first Black Queens side was formed.

Of WAFCON and World Cup feats

Bayor was on the first ever Ghana squad that featured at the first edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in 1998 hosted in Nigeria.

Ghana opened their WAFCON book with a 4-0 victory over South Africa and went on to reach the final losing to Nigeria 0-2. Bayor remembers coming off the bench to score for the Black Queens at the continental competition that brought together Africa’s top eight teams.

The tournament was also a qualifier for the now iconic FIFA Women’s World Cup 1999 in the USA. The Black Queens came up against Australia, China and Sweden in Group D.

“I was happy to be there, especially with that group of players. Singing the national anthem at the world stage was fulfilling considering where we come from and how far we had come to get to that level,” she reminisced.

Playing at the World Cup in 1999 opened up opportunities for Bayor and her teammates. She went on to play in North Virginia, Rochester, Germany, China while continuing to shine in national team colours. Her exploits saw her named as the African Player of the Year in 2003 and was in contention for the 2004 and 2006 awards.

At the 2007 World Cup, she captained Ghana and wearing the armband meant everything to her, her family, friends and the entire country. It was a display of confidence in her abilities on and off the pitch. For the young girl who grew up in Accra, it was a wild dream come true.

Decades later

Bayor retired from playing the beautiful game in 2011 but has remained at the core of the Black Queens – this time behind the scenes and as an Equipment Manager. Her role entails making sure that the team has everything that they need from an equipment point of view.

“I make sure that everything from official match jerseys, training kits, cones…everything is ready and good to go at training as well as on match day. Planning is very important in this kind of job and there is no room for error whatsoever,” Bayor told CAFOnline.

On training days, Bayor is seen setting up the necessary equipment onto the field of play exquisitely with grace – like her name. She lets her work speak for itself – a woman of very few words. Those who know her, know that her shy personality transforms into a commitment to deliver whenever she gets the call up to be part of the national team.

She locks in, gets her checklist going and ensures that there is nothing that has been forgotten. In fact, within the Black Queens setup, there are heavy fines for anyone that forgets something or comes late for that matter.

Black Queens now

For Bayor who has been part of the team for decades, donning the national team colours at the just ended TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2024 is an absolute honour – yet again even though in a different role.

She reflects on the journey to this tournament and current generation; “We opened the way for them. We crawled so that they can run. They have everything that they need to perform at this level. The WAFCON has grown in leaps and bounds from what it was in 1998 on and off the pitch. It has been incredible to experience the growth.”

“There is a big difference from an organization point of view as well as financing. The prize money is now up to $1m. That is massive from CAF,” Bayor added with a smile.

Ghana was in Group C with the reigning champions South Africa whom they lost to 0-2 in their opening fixture, Mali and Tanzania.