The Black Princesses have opened camp at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram as preparations intensify for their upcoming clash against South Africa in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

Head Coach Charles Sampson has expressed satisfaction with the team’s early progress, highlighting steady improvements in fitness, tactical organisation, and team chemistry ahead of the crucial two-legged encounter.

Speaking to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) official news website on the team’s training programme, Sampson said preparations are progressing well despite the fact that not all invited players have reported to camp yet.

“Training is going on well. We are focusing on conditioning and our structure of play. Many players are not in camp yet, so we are expecting some players to arrive in the next week, and then we can start shaping up the way we want. So far, it's looking really good. It's very interesting; we've got some new faces to look at, and it's very impressive,” he noted.

The coach also expressed pleasant surprise at how quickly new call-ups are settling into the squad.

“It’s going better than I thought. It looks like they know each other already, so you can see that the relationship is already building. They are feeling at home, and the environment is welcoming. They are quickly blending in very easily. Now it’s up to us to see which of them is ripe enough to help us now or in the future,” Sampson explained.

On Ghana’s overall objective, the Black Princesses coach made it clear that qualification for the World Cup remains the ultimate target, regardless of the opponent.

“Our mission is to go to the World Cup, so it really doesn’t matter if we play South Africa at home first or away. But now we have a home game, so our intention is to take advantage of it. It is our home, and with our supporters behind us, we are expecting – and we hope – that we take advantage of it, so that we go to South Africa with a bit of an advantage,” he said.

Sampson also shared his assessment of South Africa, describing them as a side with a similar footballing philosophy, which he believes will make for an entertaining contest.

“South Africa is also a team that plays almost like us – a bit of free-flowing football – which makes me look forward to it, because it looks like it’s going to be an interesting game. We are playing at home first, so we want to get this support and get a massive win to be able to carry it to Johannesburg. So we hope that Ghanaians will come and support us the way we want them to,” he added.

Ghana will host South Africa in the first leg in Accra in the first week of February, before travelling to Johannesburg for the return fixture, with a place at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup at stake.

The tournament in Poland is the 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, running in four cities, Lodz, Bielsko-Biala, Katowice and Sosnowiec, between September 5-27, 2026.