Jennifer: Elevating the Cudjoe Name in Africa and Beyond
A Woman of the Match Award in her debut at the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is something that Jennifer Cudjoe could only dream about. But if there is anything that football has taught anyone, it is that dreams do come true even when least expected.
Playing in Africa’s biggest football showpiece for the very first time, the 31-year-old Jennifer was passionate right from the onset. After watching the opener against South Africa in the stands because of a suspension, she finally got the enviable opportunity of starting the gamefor her nation.
Singing loudest when the national anthem rang across the neat Berkane Stadium in Friday’s encounter against Mali in their second Group C tie, she came alive. “Bold to defend for ever…With all our will and might for evermore…To serve thee, Ghana, now and evermore”. And serve did she when the whistle was blown for the match to kick off.
“It is my first WAFCON so being able to stand there, sing the national anthem with a proud chest, in that moment I was just thinking about my family, the people close to me, people that I care about and all of them watching me. I need to be locked in and give everything. I am grateful that it worked out today, so I am looking forward to the next game,” she says with a glow in her eyes.
Her quality was visible right from the beginning of the game. She was involved in Ghana’s offensive and defensive play. In a very dominant opening 45 minutes for Ghana, Jennifer showed her technical proficiency, was efficient in one on ones and was the bridge between the defense and her side’s attacking plays.
“Watching from the stands in the opener, I knew that if I am going to get a chance to come in, I need to do more, work hard and give my team the balance. I am super excited that I finally have played at the WAFCON. This is a dream come true. I am kind of sad of course because this is not the result that we wanted but I am grateful for the platform,” Jennifer admits.
A natural born leader
Ghana opened the scoring thanks to Alice Kusi in the sixth minute, but Mali’s Aissata Traore equalized in the 52nd minute. Throughout the entire match, Jennifer’s leadership was visible on the field of play. When teenage sensation Comfort Yeboah was handed a yellow card for a foul just outside the box, it was Jennifer who walked to her to encourage her and keep her in the game. A leader and an organizer, Jennifer leads from the thick of things – inside the pack.
She is precise with the ball, and she breaks the lines to reach the forwards in the final attacking third. Her positioning is that of a mature player, excellent reading of the game and she anticipates play by intercepting balls played in the gaps.
Ghana head coach Kim Lars Björkegren tells CAFOnline that, “She came in and gave us the energy in the middle. I am happy with her today. We needed her leadership, and she showed quality throughout the game.” The Swedish coach sang her praises during and after the post-match press conference visibly happy with her commitment to the team’s cause.
Accounting Graduate, Professional Footballer
As a young girl, born and raised in Accra, Jennifer was inspired to play the beautiful game by her elder sister Elizabeth Cudjoe – a trailblazer in Ghana and beyond. Jennifer knew from the onset that she wanted to do big things. She wanted to write her own story. It was never competition with her elder sister but rather an aspiration to grow the Cudjoe name globally.
“Football has shaped me to find myself, my identity as a woman and as a footballer. It has taught me about life and how to embrace opportunities. It gave me an opportunity to go to college and because of that, I want to be an inspiration to young girls in Ghana. I want them to dream that it is possible to make it, to play with the best in the world,” Jennifer speaksthoughtfully.
Moving to the USA at the age of 18 in 2013 meant that Jennifer had to adjust quickly to the way of life in the USA, embrace the opportunity of studying at NorthEastern Oklahoma and accustomed to being a student athlete. Eventually, this paid off with her graduating with a prestigious Accounting Degree in Business.
She won the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association Region II Soccer Player of the Year and was named to the NJCAA All-Region team in 2013 and 2014. Jennifer then relocated to Northeastern State University and finished her college career at the University of Maine at Fort Kent with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. She was named as the Ghanaian Female Athlete of the Year in 2015 by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana.
She was a member of the UMFK team that won the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Championship in 2016. She was also named to the All-American team.
Jennifer then joined California Storm and Asheville City Soccer Club. In 2020, she signedwith Gotham Futbol Club in New York playing three years in the National Women's Soccer League before signing with Futbol Club Nordsjaelland in Denmark.
Giving back to the community
“Football has provided me with a platform to meet important people and play with and against the best of the best. These are opportunities that I do not take for granted. My Mom and my sister called me after the game [against Mali on Friday]. My brother sent me a little note and said, “Next time. I am pretty sure that they are disappointed, but they are proud of me.”
“Playing in the USA gave me the mentality to work harder than everybody else, to always be ready. It is something that I learnt from Carli Lloyd [American legend – two-time World champion and Olympic gold medalist], stay ready until your chance comes. So, I have always been working hard and waiting for an opportunity, and it has finally come.”
Jennifer represented Ghana at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup 2014 in Canada where she scored a goal against Finland in a memorable Group A game that will always remain special to her. Her journey has been one filled with patience, resilience and a yearning to pass on the torch.
This is what motivated her to start the Jennifer Cudjoe Community Project Foundation in 2022 that helps young athletes – mostly girls and boys, chase their dreams through sports and education. “I give back to the community, to the young ones especially those that never had an opportunity to have mentorship. We give them boots and this alone can change their lives. We have so many partners that come on board to donate and this has been important to us.”
Jennifer, who currently features for DC Power in the USA, is not just an inspiration for other girls and boys in Ghana and beyond but also to her younger brother – Marica Cudjoe. The youngster is the current captain of the U20s at SMAC Academy connected to the Juventus Academy in the Ghanaian capital – Accra.
While playing in America has opened opportunities for her, it was not a straight line, but Jennifer is confident that as an African player, her presence in these spaces continues to create platforms for others to join in. “I love DC [Washington DC] because the people are very respectful, a predominantly Black community gives a feeling of home. You will see so many Ghanaians, Ugandans, Ethiopians basically, you will see people who are the same. People who will take you as a sister and make sure that you do not feel out of place.”
A place that she is quickly calling home where in her first ever game, she has walked away with the beautiful and well-deserved Woman of the Match Award, is the ongoing WAFCON in Morocco. One point after two games means that Ghana sit bottom of Group C but Jennifer is confident that the Black Queens can turn things around. The Black Queens take on Tanzania in a do or die last group fixture on Monday, July 14 in Berkane.