Women's Football

 

2010 is a monster year for the women's game in NZ, with all three national teams in World Cup action, be it qualifying or finals themselves, not to mention a number of other international opportunities which are planned pending the realisation of various goals along the way.

 

The U17s have their WWC qualifiers in Auckland in February, with qualification for the Trinidad & Tobago finals in mid-2010 the prize.

 

The U20s' qualifiers for Germany 2010 take place in Auckland from 15-25 October, and providing they qualify, they'll be creating havoc in Deutschland between July 13 and August 1 next year.

 

The Football Ferns have their OFC WWC qualifying tournament inside the next sixteen months too, with Germany 2011 the reward should they advance from the Auckland qualifiers.

 

What all this means is, just as was the case for the FFs in 07 and all three squads in 08, there is going to be a truckload of preparatory work taking place in each of these squads throughout 2010, and any players who have World Cup aspirations really need to get themselves up here to be fully involved in the project, show they are fully commited to it, and gain the full benefits from it.

 

From a player management perspective, it's a helluva lot easier to manage each player's workload and needs (e.g. medical treatment, injury management, etc.) if they're all able to turn up for training at NHS on any given evening, rather than have the bulk of the squad based in Auckland, and handfuls of players scattered around other locations.

 

Having all those involved in one location removes the prospects of inconsistencies in coaching, messages and treatment for injuries, not to mention denies those who are so inclined the scope to do as they please outside the national squad environment, e.g. the events of July 5, the day of my unannounced visit.

 

It's not just confined to the girls either. The U17 boys have been based in Auckland throughout 2009 for the very same reasons outlined above, and weren't the U20 boys based in Wellington prior to failing to qualify for Egypt?

 

 

Cheers,

 

JR