Ghana’s Black Queens target winning WAFCON 2026

Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has set his sights on winning the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), insisting Ghana are determined to go all the way in Morocco.

Ghana’s senior women’s national team will begin their tournament campaign on Wednesday when they face WAFCON debutants Cape Verde at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca.

Speaking ahead of the Group A opener, the Swedish tactician outlined the team’s objectives for the continental tournament, with qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup also among their key targets.

“We have three targets: qualify from the group stage, win the quarter-finals to qualify for the World Cup and go all the way to win the 2026 WAFCON,” Björkegren told the media on Tuesday.

The Black Queens enter the competition with renewed confidence after weeks of intensive preparations in Morocco, which concluded with an emphatic 4-0 friendly victory over Malawi.

The impressive result has lifted morale within the camp as Ghana look to build on their bronze medal finish from the previous edition of the tournament.

Björkegren, who inherited a team that had struggled for consistency in recent years, believes the progress made so far gives the Black Queens a strong foundation to compete for the title.

“We were happy with the bronze medal in the previous WAFCON. I think we did really well. When I came in, I took over a team that normally hadn’t performed really well in a long time,” he said.

The Black Queens are aiming to surpass their previous achievement and secure Ghana’s first-ever WAFCON title.

After their opening match against Cape Verde, Ghana will face Cameroon on Saturday, August 2, before concluding their group stage fixtures against Mali on August 6.

The four teams that advance to the semi-finals of the 2026 WAFCON will automatically qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.