{
  "id": 13085291,
  "title": "LA 2028: Near misses and the crashouts, but Black Queens cannot afford another Olympic Games slip-up",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/la-2028-near-misses-and-the-crashouts-but-black-queens-cannot-afford",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-09T09:23:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/la-2028-near-misses-and-the-crashouts-but-black-queens-cannot-afford-another-olympic-games-slip-up/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ghanaian women's national football team, known as the Black Queens, have a long-standing ambition to compete in the Olympic Games. Since women's football was introduced to the Olympic stage in 1996, there have been seven editions, but the Black Queens have yet to grace the Games. Their closest attempt came in 2008, when they narrowly missed out on qualification for the Olympics after losing to Brazil in the intercontinental playoffs.\n\nGhana's Olympic aspirations were further fueled by their strong performances in international tournaments. In 2004, they narrowly missed a spot in the Olympics after a close defeat to Nigeria in the third round. They followed this with strong showings in 2008 and 2012, where they reached the final phase and secured a second-place finish in the CAF qualifiers, respectively. However, each time, they fell just short of securing an Olympic berth.\n\nDespite these setbacks, the Black Queens remain determined to achieve this long-standing goal. The wait for their first Olympic appearance continues, and the team is eager to avoid another disappointing performance at the upcoming Olympic Games.",
  "summary": "Since the introduction of women's football at the Olympic Games in 1996, there have been seven more editions that have happened. However, in all of that, the Black Queens are yet to make an appearance.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}