A former United States Women’s World Cup champion and pioneering women’s football coach, Amy Griffin, has identified equal access and opportunities for girls as critical to accelerating the growth of women’s football in Ghana and across Africa.
Ms Griffin said providing girls with greater opportunities to play, watch and engage with women’s football would increase the visibility of the game, attract more supporters and create conditions for increased investment.
She made the observation during a post-interview session at a mentoring programme organised by the United States Embassy in Accra under its Sports Envoy Programme.
The programme, dubbed “U.S. Soccer Playbook: Capacity Building of Ghanaian Coaches for Female Athletes,” brought together football coaches, administrators, players and other stakeholders to discuss the development of women’s football and the capacity of coaches working with young female athletes.
The initiative forms part of efforts to strengthen sports diplomacy between Ghana and the United States through skills development, cultural exchange and people-to-people engagement.
Ms Griffin, who has been involved in women’s football for decades, said the experience of the United States demonstrated how equal opportunities could accelerate the development of the women’s game.
She cited Title IX, the US legislation aimed at ensuring equal opportunities in education and sports, as a major factor in creating opportunities for girls and female coaches, which eventually contributed to the development of the highly successful US women’s national team.
“I think it just takes access,” Ms Griffin said, stressing that people needed opportunities to watch women’s football before they could develop a strong interest in the sport.
‘Get them on the field’
Ms Griffin said the challenge was not necessarily a lack of quality in women’s football, but the limited access available to girls and audiences.
She said women’s football could differ from the men’s game while remaining equally entertaining.
“You have to have equal access in order for enough people to say, ‘Man, that was fun to watch. I want to go back,’” she said.“You just have to get them on the field the first time.”
Africa has untapped potential
Ms Griffin, who has spent about three decades involved in football at the international level, said the increasing presence of African women footballers on the global stage demonstrated the continent’s enormous potential.
She said many talented African players had emerged over the years, with their numbers now increasing.
According to her, many top players in the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) now come from Africa, describing the development as “just the tip of the iceberg”.
She expressed optimism that Africa was on the verge of producing more high-quality female footballers.
Corporate support
Ghanaian football administrator and lawyer, Cleopatra Nsiah Nketiah, called for stronger support from Corporate Ghana to help develop women’s football.
She said companies could contribute beyond direct financial support by providing equipment, subsidising costs and supporting transportation for players.
“If Corporate Ghana decides to bring some money, we’d be very appreciative of that, but in lieu of money, there are other things that you can do,” she said.
MsNketiah suggested that companies could provide buses to transport players to training sessions, saying such practical support could ease some of the operational challenges confronting women’s football clubs.
She also urged corporate institutions to publicly associate themselves with women’s football to increase the visibility of the sport and attract more supporters and investors.
She further called for stronger contractual arrangements to protect investments in female footballers, particularly in the absence of training compensation mechanisms comparable to those available in the men’s game.
Coaches as role models
Former American professional footballer and Sports Envoy, Kofi Sarkodie, urged coaches to recognise their influence beyond developing players’ technical abilities.
He said coaches could shape the culture of their teams by instilling confidence, self-belief, punctuality, respect, autonomy and teamwork.
He also called for stronger systems for identifying and nurturing football talent, saying the Ghana Football Association (GFA) had an important role to play in developing and enforcing appropriate structures.
Sports diplomacy
In her welcome address, Acting Public Affairs Officer of the Public Diplomacy Section of the US Embassy in Ghana, Donya Eldridge, said the initiative demonstrated the broader diplomatic value of sport.
She said football provided the Embassy with an avenue to engage Ghanaian society while building the capacity of coaches, athletes and communities at the grassroots level.
The two Sports Envoys, Ms Griffin and Mr Sarkodie, are expected to lead a two-day training programme for high-school coaches of female student-athletes in the Northern, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions over a two-week period in September.
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