Ghana: Black Queens wait on bonuses ahead of Olympic Games qualifier

Ghana have qualified for the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, having missed the 2022 edition of the finals

Ghana's women's football team will be paid the bonuses they are due before Friday's 2024 Olympic Games qualifier against Zambia, an official has confirmed.

The Black Queens squad are owed $7,500 each for victories over the past year in qualifiers for both the Olympics and the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

Gifty Oware-Mensah, the chair of the Black Queens management committee, expects the country's sports ministry to deliver the funds on Thursday afternoon.

"This is not the first time the ministry has owed bonuses to players," Oware-Mensah told Newsday on the BBC World Service.

"Most of the time, it takes a while for the nation to be able to pay these bonuses. We are waiting for the ministry to come to pay in full as they promised."

Oware-Mensah also scotched rumours that the Ghana squad would have boycotted Friday's qualifier in Accra if the bonuses were not paid.

"I have been in camp with (the team), had meetings with them," she said.

"We had that information on social media [that the squad would boycott the match].

"We had a few conversations with them. It looked like it wasn't the girls saying it but concerned Ghanaians, who felt the girls deserved their bonuses, that had put these things on social media.

"In the meeting nothing came up [about] a boycott. There was no tension in camp."

Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kurt Simeon-Okraku and youth and sports minister Mustapha Yusif have visited the squad ahead of the first leg of the third-round tie against Zambia.

Yusif assured the players of the ministry's "commitment to fulfilling all promises made" and added that "all outstanding bonuses will be cleared", according to a statement on the GFA website.

The winners of the third-round tie will face either Tunisia or Morocco in April for a place at Paris 2024.

Zambia mourn death of striker Betani

Meanwhile, the Zambia squad held a minute's silence before training on Wednesday in honour of team-mate Norin Betani, who died overnight.

The Indeni Roses striker had been named in the 30-woman provisional squad for the Olympic qualifier against Ghana.

A statement from the Football Association of Zambia (Faz) said the 24-year-old passed away at the University Teaching Hospital on Wednesday morning "after being diagnosed with suspected malaria".

Faz added that Betani had reported to camp feeling unwell and had been taken to the hospital on Monday for thorough examination.

"We urge everyone in the football family to mourn the deceased with dignity and respect the full privacy that medical situations sometimes demand," general secretary Reuben Kamanga said.

Copper Queens striker Racheal Nachula added: "I want to say my condolences to the family, her relatives and to the nation at large. We are mourning with them."