Black Princesses Beat Nigeria To Strike Gold At 13th African Games

The Black Princesses of Ghana, the nation’s U-20 women’s national football team, secured Ghana’s 50th medal at the ongoing 13th Africa Games, clinching gold in a thrilling victory over arch-rivals Nigeria on Thursday (21 March) at the Cape Coast Stadium.

Led by Head Coach Yusif Basigi, the Black Princesses began their journey with a commanding performance in Group A. They remained undefeated, topping the group with seven points from a possible nine after facing Uganda (1-1 draw), Ethiopia (1-0 win), and Tanzania (2-1 win).

The Black Princesses continued their momentum in the semi-finals, defeating Senegal 3-1. Their opponents in the final, Nigeria’s Falconets, entered the match as tournament favourites, boasting an unblemished record with eight goals scored and none conceded.

Nigeria struck first in the 23rd minute through Edeh Njideka, capitalising on a mistake by Ghana’s goalkeeper, Afi Amenyeku. Ghana responded in the 77th minute with a goal from Tracey Twum, shattering the Falconets’ clean sheet.

With the score tied at the end of regulation time, the match went into extra time. In a moment of brilliance, forward Mukarama Abdulai emerged as the hero, unleashing a spectacular strike in the 98th minute that found the bottom corner of the net and secured the gold medal for Ghana.

This victory propels Ghana to 50 total medals (11 gold, 23 silver, and 16 bronze) at the 13th African Games. While they remain in 6th place behind Tunisia, they hold a firm position ahead of Morocco in the overall medal table