Mercy Tagoe is an easy mention regarding women who have had a huge impact on Women's football in Ghana.
Today being International Women's day, GhanaWeb celebrates Tagoe who has seen it all and inspired many females in the country to chase their dreams in football.
From a footballer to a referee and now a coach, Mercy Tagoe is the only Ghanaian female to have had all three careers. It is obvious that the current Black Queens coach has indeed paid her dues and her story will continue to inspire more women to cut a career path in the male-dominated sport.
Football career
Tagoe, 43, born on February 5, 1978, developed a love for the sport at a tender age.
She grew up in the street of Tema where she used to play football with boys in her community. Tagoe who was a midfielder was later converted into a defender when she joined Tema Supreme Ladies.
In the late 90s when women's football was not popular in the country, Mrs. Tagoe-Quarcoo and her class of players made history in 1999 when they qualified Ghana to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The qualification drew more attention to the Women's National Team which led to their second successive qualification to the World in 2003. Marcy Tagoe was featured in the tournament.
Refereeing Career
After the 2003 World Cup in the USA, Tagoe diverted to began a new chapter in refereeing.
She had her FIFA in 2005 and was involved in several international tournaments including the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Tagoe-Quarcoo brought her refereeing to a halt in 2012.
Coaching Career
Tagoe-Quarcoo, after quitting referee started another football-related career, coaching. Fast forward to 2016, Tagoe became was the first female to earn a technical team role in a Ghanaian top flight after joining Amidaus Professionals
Her coaching journey kick-started in Tema when she joined Colts Club, Prisco Munis FC, and before moving to Gye Nyame FC moved to Gye Nyame FC, a local Division 2 side.
Mrs. Tagoe- Quarcoo landed her first women's top head coach role at Halifax Ladies in the Women’s Premier League. During her time at Halifax, she also served as assistant coach to Mas-Ud Didi Dramani at the Black Queens.
She assumed the technical head role after Didi Dramani's spell ended. Mercy Tagoe led Ghana twice to WAFU Zone B glories (Gold in 2018 and Bronze medal in 2019).
Eduacation and private life
She is a proud CAF Instructor and a senior Fire officer with the rank of Divisional Officer Grade 3 with the Ghana National Fire Service. She is married to Mr. Daniel Quarcoo, a Senior Executive of the Bank of Ghana and blessed with two children.