Ghana’s under-17 girls’ team kept their WAFU B campaign on track with a six-goal display in Yamoussoukro, and now face hosts Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday.
Ghana's Black Maidens put six goals past Niger in Yamoussoukro on Matchday Four of the WAFU B Under-17 Girls Cup, winning 6-1 and keeping their campaign firmly on course.
The Black Maidens are Ghana's national women's football team at the under-17 level. WAFU B is the West African Football Union Zone B grouping, which brings together countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Niger, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso for regional competition.
A one-sided afternoon
The Ghanaian Times reports that the win was an emphatic one, with Ghana's attack running the game from front to back and Niger managing only a single goal in reply.
The match was the second-to-last fixture on Ghana's schedule in the tournament, which is being staged in Yamoussoukro, the political capital of Cote d'Ivoire.
Next: the hosts
Attention now turns to Ghana's final group fixture against Cote d'Ivoire, set for Sunday, September 27, 2026, at 14:00 GMT.
For readers in the United States, 14:00 GMT is 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time and 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time, so the match falls comfortably within a Sunday morning for most Ghanaians abroad.
Playing the host nation in front of a home crowd is usually the hardest assignment in any regional tournament, and it will be a real measure of where this Ghanaian side stands.
Why the age-group teams matter
Tournaments like the WAFU B Girls Cup are the main competitive outlet for young female players in the sub-region. They give coaches a chance to test teenagers against opposition of a similar standard before the bigger continental and world youth competitions come around.
For Ghana, the under-17 level has long been a feeder into the senior women's setup. Strong performances at this stage often mark out the players who go on to represent the country at higher levels, and increasingly, those who attract interest from clubs and college programmes overseas.
A six-goal haul against Niger will not settle the question of how good this group is. Sunday's match against Cote d'Ivoire will say a lot more.
The Ghana Football Association has not published a detailed breakdown of scorers for the Niger match in the reporting available so far.
