She said the Black Queens had the full support of the nation and must, therefore, feel inspired and motivated to conquer Africa on home soil.

Speaking at the inauguration in Accra yesterday of an 11-member Accra Venue Organisation Committee (VOC) for the tournament, Mrs Quist said football had proven to be a unifier that taught vital character traits such as dedication, tenacity and commitment which could be used to drive the country forward.

She stressed the importance of football as a tool of national development and urged all Ghanaians to leverage the sport for individual development because it was “more than just a game”.

"Today, football has become an extremely important part of our development as individuals and our development as a nation.

Sports is about development, it is about skill, it is about commitment, it is about dedication, it is about the tenacity to win against the odds, it is about the willingness to say that I will go the extra mile," Mrs Quist said.

“There is so much more to it and we collectively should leverage football to drive our country forward because it is one of the few things that we all agree on.

“I believe that with the Black Queens going forward they have the full support of us as the nation".

Composition of the VOC

The Accra VOC is chaired by Elizabeth Sackey (Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister) with Sophia Korkor, a legal practitioner, and Vivian Dougblor of the National Sports Authority serving as Vice Chairman and Secretary, respectively.

Other members of the committee include Chief Superintendent Kwesi Ofori, Dr Prince Pambo, Portia Tagoe of the Regional Coordinating Council, Grace Acheampong, Ivy Asamoah, Prince Obeng, Emmanuel Clottey of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Benjamin William Graham of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).

In a remark, Mrs Sackey gave an assurance that all members of the committee would give of their best as a patriotic duty to ensure that the tournament became a resounding success.

She said the committee would coordinate all activities of the four teams based in Accra.

The teams will use the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) park at Legon and El Wak Stadium as training venues, with the referees to officiate in matches in the capital using the University of Ghana Stadium for training.

The chairperson for the Local Organising Committee, Freda Prempeh, stressed that Ghana had the blessing of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host the tournament.

She said with barely two months to the start of the tournament, Ghana was 75-80 per cent ready to host the premier women’s competition in Africa.

Mrs Prempeh revealed that the LOC was in discussions with CAF for the draw for the eight-nation tournament to be held in Ghana, adding that the official tournament mascot and theme song wound be unveiled next week.