Black Queens coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren saw 2025 as a “crazy year”, reflecting on a great 12 months that concluded with Ghana as Africa’s third-best women’s team.

Since taking over in January, the Swedish coach has noted the team’s improvement, pointing to a bronze medal at the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and a positive finish to the year, including against elite teams.

“It’s been a crazy year, nearly a year with the Black Queens,” Bjorkegren said. “They have been absolutely amazing”. “While it had its challenges, it has generally been great, and I’m happy I coached the Black Queens”.

Ghana secured third in WAFCON, losing the semi-final to Morocco on penalties but beating South Africa in the playoff. Bjorkegren said the tournament was a big leap for the team.

“As a team, we developed quite a bit. We prepared well physically, worked diligently, and were tactically better. Losing in the penalty shootout was hard, but winning third place was great. “It was an amazing summer with a great celebration in Ghana,” he added.

The Black Queens built on their success by comfortably defeating Egypt 7-0 on aggregate, qualifying for the next WAFCON and confirming their progress under the new coach.