Football in Ghana Information & Football in Ghana Links at HealthHaven.com

Football is the most popular sport in Ghana. The national governing body is the Ghana Football Association. Internationally, Ghana is represented by the male Black Stars and the female Black Queens. The top domestic football league in Ghana is the OneTouch Premier League.

[edit] History

Main article: History of football in Ghana

It is on record that the game of football was introduced into the Gold Coast towards the close of the 19th century by merchants from Europe. Sailors during their leisure times played football among themselves and sometimes with a select side of the indigenous people. The popularity of the game spread like wild fire within a short time along the coast culminating in the formation of the first football club, Excelsior, in 1903 by Mr. Briton, a Jamaican-born Briton, who was then the Head Teacher of Philip Quaicoe Government Boys School in Cape Coast.

[edit] Ghana national men's football team

Main article: Ghana national football team

The Black Stars team is one of the highly rated national football teams in Africa. Ghana has won the African Cup of Nations championships on four occasions. They also reached the quarter finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup before being eliminated by the Brazil. Some illustrious players have been Charles Kumi Gyamfi Abedi Pele, Abdul Razak, Tony Yeboah, Samuel Kuffour and Michael Essien.

The youth teams have been successful as well. The U17 team regularly competes in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and has won it twice and were runners-up twice. The U20 team were runners-up twice in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Senior squad regulars such as Sulley Muntari, Michael Essien, John Mensah and captain Stephen Appiah all got their start at these youth tournaments.

[edit] Ghana national women's football team

Main article: Ghana women's national football team

The Black Queens have taken part in all the FIFA Women's World Cup championships since 1999. The team has however failed to go beyond the first round on each occasion. Ghana has also been runner up to Nigeria on three occasions in the African Women's Championships. Two Ghanaians, Alberta Sackey and Adjoa Bayor have been voted African Women Player of the Year.