TT'S SOCA PRINCESSES READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLDBy Stephon Nicholas Sunday, September 5 2010
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Members of the Women's Under-17 team pose with Sports Minister Anil Roberts (6th from right) and Works Minister and FIFA honcho Jack Warner....
The wait is over. The second edition of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup kicks off today with 16 countries vying to be named the number one team in the world. The opening match of the tournament will see Nigeria come up against defending champions North Korea at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo at 3 pm while three hours later the venue is expected to be jam- packed with football fans eager to see host country Trinidad and Tobago do battle with Chile in what coach Even Pellerud has described as a must-win game.
In Group “B” action, Germany squares off against Mexico at the Dwight Yorke Stadium at 4 pm while South Africa faces South Korea at the same venue at 7pm.
The tournament is FIFA’s youngest competition with the inaugural event being held two years ago in New Zealand. North Korea defeated the Unites States 2-1 to lift the trophy while Germany finished third after beating England 3-0 in the third/fourth playoff.
With the success of the 2002 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship, FIFA proposed to add a second junior tournament for women thus giving birth to the Under-17 Women’s World Cup.
“Women’s football has come a long way in recent years, and today about 30 million girls and women play the game. It is vital that we continue to raise awareness of the positive values of women’s football as well as its social and individual benefits in terms of health, fitness, social integration, self-esteem, enjoyment and friendship,” Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA said. “We are confident that this U-17 tournament will leave a legacy for the development and expansion of women’s football,” he added.
Preparations for the tournament have not gone according to plan with FIFA vice president Jack Warner stating last week that football world’s governing body was not satisfied with the pace of development with regards to the playing surface, dressing rooms, media centres and VIP areas.
There can be no excuses now, however, as all eyes will be turned to the field of play to see the top teams in the world showcase their skills in order to win football’s premier tournament for their age group.
This will be fifth time TT has participated in a World Cup and the second time the twin islands have played hosts as many football fans will remember in 2001 the FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Championship was held right here.
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) has assembled a disciplined and strong team that will be aiming to create history this time around on home soil. TT has never won a game at a World Cup and never progressed past the group stage. But with coach Even Pellerud of Norway at the helm of the Soca Princesses, fans throughout TT would be hoping to see some magic from the girls. Pellerud certainly has the credentials to get TT to the promise land having won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1995 as coach of his home land Norway, and earned bronze in 1996 at the Summer Olympics with the same team. Pellerud has been in charge for almost 18 months and has transformed the team into a unit capable of playing and beating some of the best nations in the world.
On July 25, the Soca Princesses drew 1-1 with the highly fancied Brazilian Under-17 team and warmed up for the World Cup in style with a 3-0 drubbing of Ireland on August 28. With the positive results the public cannot help but be enthusiastic and optimistic of TT’s chances of performing well at the competition. In an interview with Sunday Newsday recently, Jamaal Shabazz, Assistant Director of women’s football in TT, praised Pellerud for the work he has done since taking over and predicted that the girls were going “to light it up”.
The national team has had to deal with a number of challenges including the dreadful news that they will have to do without the services of inspirational captain Camille Borneo who suffered a torn ACL in the tour of Brazil earlier this year. But stepping in to replace her was United States born Lauren Schmidt who was drafted into the training squad just four months ago. Schmidt emerged as a true leader and one would be unwise to second-guess Pellerud’s judgement.
Men’s football has traditionally hogged the limelight locally but if all the signs are proper indicators of what is to be expected from the Soca Princesses then women’s football will get their due if the host country makes a deep run in the tournament.
Trinidadians and Tobagonians will well remember the euphoria and feeling of pride that engulfed TT in 2005 when the Soca Warriors qualified for the World Cup and with crime again spiralling out of control it cannot be discounted what football can do for this country yet again.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has publicly stated that the future of football is feminine and with the dreams of hundreds of young footballers ready to be realised, TT welcomes the world to our shores for three weeks where the next female football stars will be crowned and dreams will come true.
Sixteen teams have been placed in four groups of four where a round robin stage will be played with the top two teams advancing to the quarter-finals. Elimination matches will then be played all the way to the final where a champion will be crowned.
North Korea are the current holders of the World Cup and will be favourites to repeat but, Brazil and Germany are expected to be the main challengers for the title.
Women’s football remains a top priority for FIFA and hundreds of coaches, players, referees, administrators and doctors have taken advantage of development courses, symposiums and video productions organised by football’s world governing body.
Maylee Attin-Johnson, manager of the national U-20 women’s football team has hailed TT’s hosting of the World Cup as instrumental in highlighting areas where improvements need to be made to the female game.
“I remember eight years ago we could not afford camps and slept in the dressing rooms of our stadia when we had double sessions. We almost never had training camps and funding for the programme was almost negligible,” she said.
“Today we have camps on a continual basis, we stay in hotels, foreign based players are flown in and out of country and we are treated with respect as footballers, “ she declared.
The tournament is being held from September 5-25 at five stadia throughout TT including the Hasely Crawford Stadium (Mucurapo), Larry Gomes Stadium (Malabar), Dwight Yorke Stadium (Tobago), Manny Ramjohn Stadium (Marabella) and the Ato Boldon Stadium (Couva).
The national team is as follows: Keri Myers, Linfah Jones, Shalette Alexander (goalkeepers); Khadisha Debesette, Patrice Vincent, Rehana Omardeen, Courtney Bahadursingh, Lauren Schmidt (defenders); Victoria Swift, Khadidra Debesette, Kayla Taylor, Emma Abdul, Jasmine Sampson, Liana Hinds (midfielders); Camille Charles, Jo-Marie Lewis, Nykosi Simmons, Diarra Simmons, Brianna Ryce, Anique Walker, Jonelle Warrick (strikers).
GROUP A: TT, Chile, Nigeria, North Korea.
GROUP B: Germany, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea.
GROUP C: New Zealand, Venezuela, Spain, Japan.
GROUP D: Republic of Ireland, Brazil, Canada, Ghana.
