Currently a CAF Instructor and a senior Fire Officer with the rank of Divisional Officer Grade 3 with the Ghana National Fire Service, Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo has seen it all in football. Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo cemented her place in the history of Ghanaian football when she, along with her teammates, successfully qualified Ghana for the 1999 FIFA
The post From pitch to sidelines: Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo’s unstoppable rise in a male-dominated sport first appeared on 3News.
Currently a CAF Instructor and a senior Fire Officer with the rank of Divisional Officer Grade 3 with the Ghana National Fire Service, Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo has seen it all in football.
Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo cemented her place in the history of Ghanaian football when she, along with her teammates, successfully qualified Ghana for the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the USA.
As a player, she featured twice in the Women’s World Cup; in 1999 and her last in 2003.
Despite suffering a potentially career-threatening injury during the 2003 World Cup, the former defender’s passion for football remained undeterred. This setback, instead of ending her involvement in the sport, prompted her to explore new avenues within the football realm.
Determined to stay connected to the game she loved, she chose to transition to refereeing. While her playing career may not have provided enough protection from injuries, officiating allowed her to administer justice on the field, ensuring fair play and integrity.
Balancing her roles as a referee, a family member, and a fire officer presented its challenges. Nonetheless, she embraced these responsibilities as motivation to keep moving forward. In an interview with Cookie Tee on “Today’s Woman” on TV3, the former Black Queens coach shared her journey and the reasons behind her shift from playing football to becoming a referee.
“When we were about to leave the World Cup, I had a serious medical problem so when I came back I was sent straight to the police hospital, had a surgery and after the surgery, I just decided to switch, because prior to that I had already married for like a year so I just decided to,” she said.
Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo was destined for greatness. After earning her FIFA badge in 2005, she transitioned from playing on the field to officiating. She quickly became one of the top referees on the African continent, notably officiating the 2008 Women’s African Cup of Nations final where South Africa lost to Equatorial Guinea. Tagoe-Quarcoo also refereed in the Ghana Premier League, where she was named the best referee in the country in 2006. In 2010, she reached the pinnacle of her refereeing career by officiating at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany, an achievement she describes as the highlight of her career.
Multi-skilled as she was, Mercy Tagoe then again decided to explore another trade. In 2012, she blew the whistle for the final time but still decided to stay in the game so she opted for a job in coaching.
In a male-dominated sport, Mercy Tagoe shrugged off all the impossibilities and went all the way to the top. From refereeing to coaching where she also became an assistant to Mas-Ud Didi Dramani. Before being elevated to the Head Coach position following the exit of the former in 2018 where she then became the first-ever women’s coach for the Black Queens.
She led Ghana twice to WAFU Zone B glories (Gold in 2018 and Bronze medal in 2019). In 2020, she led the team to another feat in Turkey where Ghana finished second in the 2020 Turkish Women’s Cup invitational tournament.
Mercy Tagoe also explained how although it is a choice, it is okay for female footballers to build a family.
Ex-Black Queens coach Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo takes charge of U-23 team
“For me, marriage is a choice, and looking at the family which I am coming from, I was the only daughter of my mother and I needed to make my mum happy, not only making my mum happy, I also needed to let my family everyone know that when you’re a female footballer it doesn’t prevent you from becoming a mother, a wife, or anything that you want to be.
“So I decided to marry and I’ve been blessed with children,” she added.
Being a football player doesn’t prevent you from being a mother or wife – Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo, former head coach of the Black Queens and defender for the women’s national football team #TodaysWoman pic.twitter.com/VByyzvqWo0
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) June 26, 2024
Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo began her coaching career with Prisco Minis, a popular Youth Club based in Tema. Later, she joined, Gye Nyame FC, a third-tier side also in Tema. In 2016, she leaped to the top-flight side Amidaus Professionals, an as Assistant Coach, in the Ghana Premier League. Whilst with Amidaus Professionals, she went to Cameroon for a CAF Instructor’s Course and never returned to the former upon her return. Rather, she switched to women’s football.
The management of Halifax Ladies, a second-tier side, approached her, and she agreed to join them. In an interview with CAF, she emphasized that during this time, it wasn’t about the money; she just wanted to master the art of coaching before anything else.
To Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo, donning the national colours meant everything to her. Singing the national anthem in Ghana’s maiden Women’s World Cup in 1999 while tears dropped down her face evidently showed how indeed she was proud of that moment.
Mercy Tagoe’s rise in a male-dominated sport has created an opportunity for parents and women to change their perceptions about football; seeing it as a men’s game.
The post From pitch to sidelines: Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo’s unstoppable rise in a male-dominated sport first appeared on 3News.
