Ghana’s Female U-20 team Head Coach Yusif Basigi has welcomed the postponement of his side’s FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup qualifier with Guinea-Bissau; terming it as a blessing in disguise.
A team of 31 players of Ghana’s Black Princesses have been preparing for clash at the Cape Coast Stadium under the guidance of the much revered Basigi.
The team had to dissolve camp back in March 2020, due to the Coronavirus outbreak and only resumed camping last week Monday after being granted permission by the government; although football remains suspended in Ghana.
The two-legged affair with Guinea-Bissau was originally slated for September but has now been moved to a yet-to-be announced date by the CAF.
In an interview with the Ghana FA’s official website, Yusif Basigi said the postponement will allow for his side to carefully plan their recovery and return to match-fitness without accelerating the training schedule; hence limiting injuries.
“We started training on Monday with individual training, just as we are doing right now and response to training is not too bad,” he told the Ghana FA’s website.
“We started on a lower pace so we will be climbing slowly. I think the postponement has been a blessing in disguise for us and because of that, we will not rush the team into physical conditioning.
“We will be doing that until the end of this week before we go into individual ball games. The players will be doing strength and power as well so that they can rest the next day because we are going to work on the lower and upper extremities and as a result of that, they need about 24 hours rest before we do recovery.
“The long stay in the house has affected the players and that’s why we are taking our time to reduce their weight but it should be at a slower pace.”
The postponement of the Ghana-Guinea-Bissau clash is the second time the fixture has had to be deferred. The duel was initially set for March but the coronavirus pandemic forced a rescheduling to September.
The tournament is slated for January-February 2021, meaning the qualifier definitely has to be wrapped up before 2020 closes.
