She grew up battling prejudices against her playing the game, even from within her own family.

At one time she was told that playing football would shrink her organs!

Her own mother even warned her she might end up growing big muscles.

"People would always ask me why I wanted to play a game that was supposedly made for boys instead of playing a soft sport made for girls," Sackey told Fifaworldcup.com.

"The boys were very physical and I received some beatings every day.

Other teams should not take us for granted Alberta Sackey

"But I enjoyed playing football more than the beatings."

However, she enjoyed plenty of support her father and that helped turn her constant struggles into success.

Earlier this year, the creative midfielder was named the African Footballer of the Year, the pride of Ghana.

"I think this is a reflection on Ghana football, not Alberta Sackey," she said.

"This was a dream come true, but I couldn't have done it without the support of my country."

"As a player, your vision is to become the best player in the world and to win the World Cup.

"There would be no greater feeling than to say that you are the best in the world at what you do."

Ghana are the underdogs in Group D to China, Australia and Russia, but Sackey is not fazed.

"It's not going to be easy because we'll be playing against world-class teams.

"Other teams should not take us for granted or they may pay the price," she warned.