Photo: YOPP Girls - Ghana
All is well in Ghana!
Dana Cup is creating happiness and well being in the North of Ghana.
Sofie Junge Pedersen a former Fortuna Hjørring player and Dana Cup helper, took the initiative in 2014 to support a cause in the northern part of Ghana in an area where it is not as easy for someone to just play football.
Sofie Junge Pedersen helped start a girls football team with the money raised from the Dana Cup in 2014. She has just recently been in Ghana where she can confirm that the donation from the Dana Cup is bringing happiness and activity.
- I was lucky to be able to visit the newly started girls football team, YOPP Girls in the north of Ghana. The team is made up from the most talented female players within the nine local communitiess where the organization YOPP is working and it is a co-operation between YOPP, DGI Midtjylland and the Dana Cup, says Sofie Junge Pedersen.
- I arrived in Dalun on a Saturday afternoon after the teams leader, Alhassan had picked me up from the airport.
Dalun is one of the nine local communities in which YOPP is working.
YOPP Girls had there second training for that day and they had been there since Friday. Even though it was their second training for that day, there was good energy within the team. It was the teams highly qualified coach who took the training session. After training I said hello to the girls and followed them to their youth house where they live and sleep on their mattresses. The girls are in charge of making their own dinner, they rotate this duty between themselves and they eat together in their youth house.
I bought my own dinner on the street in the town - a fantastic dinner for 5 kroner! I was talking with the local people and we ate togther on the street. The Ghanian people are very open and friendly, so you can always find someone to talk to.
After dinner I went back to the girls where they were having their free fun time with dance and relaxation and then I returned to my own little room, Alhassan dropped my off on his motor bike.
The next morning they had training at 6.30 am. This time I got the chance to do the training session. They were very excited to learn from me and we had a very good training with technical drills, passing, finishing and fun competitions and a game to finish off. Once again their were loads of energy, even though it was very early in the morning and they had trained a lot before that. After training we all showered and then finished off the camp together.
We discussed the roles of the girls who took part in the talented training, as they are role models for all the other girls in their local community and they return to their individual communities and teach others what they have learnt. They all smile and are happy and proud that they are football players.
We finished off with a group photo, selfies and then the girls took their buses back to their own home towns.
It is fantastic to see the joy that the girls show from playing football. Alhassan tells me that it is not just football the girls are learning when they are together, last time they were together they visited the towns waterwater company.
They will also take part in a regional tournament in the nearby town named Tamale.
The newly started YOPP Girls is obviously very important for these girls and for other girls in the local communities.
