I was recently asked to speak at the FIFA Com-Unity Seminar and its Development of Women’s Football in Saint Lucia.
As the Executive Director of Sacred Sports Foundation in Saint Lucia and a woman, it’s usually my brother and our chairman-Delroy Alexander-who gets to talk sport. After all, what would a woman know eh!.
We are both passionate advocates for women’s sport and the seminar provided me with an opportunity to not only touch on our hopes and dreams for women’s sport and women’s football in St. Lucia, but the role of NGO’s in this development and the organisation of women’s sport in the Caribbean.
The St Lucia Football Association has played a critical role in sport and social development. The aims of our foundation is to use sport to help the social development of our youth, our partnership has been a long and fruitful one and we continue to work on many projects together
Women’s sport is of course unique. Not just in the Caribbean but in most places. It is shaped not just by the desire to play the game but the social needs of the day. Be it fitness or fun, Women’s sport is an increasingly essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Yet, many of our young girls are not encouraged to play at a young age by their families and parents and we NEED to change this.
“Changing the gender Order” that’s really what we are talking about when we focus on growing a female sport like women’s football.
Empowering women and women’s sport requires systematic and sustained priority attention in all strategy, policy and technical areas. It requires, women to take control of the women’s game. In our context, it requires that the contributions, priorities and needs of women are not just considered but given priority.
A very basic example is the sight of young girls changing in broad daylight on our fields. A common enough occurrence during the women’s season but not the best advert for our game. How do we encourage a doubtful parent to engage their daughter in the sport if even basic requirements are not met nor enforced?
I believe that women’s football could become a powerful change agent. With the right kind of programmes, with women leading the charge, women’s football could become a model of how to reshape the women’s game and the gender order at the same time. It could become a model of how to adequately and effectively change the lives of our young girls through sport and the common bond of playing together that football offers.
For this to become a reality, much has to change. The most critical thing in my view is the organisation and approach to the sport. Women’s football is not and never will be, a mirror of the local men’s game. We don’t want it to be and it should not be considered as such. The needs of young women, be they physical, emotional or technical are very, very different from that of young men and we MUST address them as such.
Grassroots programmes for our young women must first engage their parents, guardians & carers. Emphasis must shift to training more women to coach young girls and women. It is critical to coach and train ladies in the Caribbean to mentor our young female footballers.
As the drive to develop women’s football continues, it would be well served to focus on offering a more holistic experience. Hard technical training followed by a “sweat” will not attract young girls. Research shows that our young girls need to socialise and talk more on the field and be encouraged to do so by our coaches. Women, mentoring girls is essential for this to happen quickly and effectively.
Football is ideally placed to help with this challenge, however, greater stakeholder engagement is critical.
Our NGO partners have stressed their willingness to work together to bring more girls to the game. But they also stressed the need for a broader role for NGO’s.
We deal with our young people’s social needs as well as sporting abilities and believe a marriage of the two could continue to create a dynamic partnership for change.
Sacred Sports Foundation has not only designed but is currently delivering an extensive programme aimed at young girls. And it is extremely challenging work. Our young women often play little sport and their attention span for it is short. But with focus, drive, determination and innovation this has changed.
We have introduced salsa dancing( for example) to help engage them. We have started listening more and talking less, we also have a great support network that can help address issues both on and off the field. We will be expanding this programme over the next year.
We of course would like to offer more women’s football but we need to see more women coaches and greater involvement of women in the decision making process.
Sports Associations in the Caribbean have made strong efforts to engage women in the sport. These women must now be allowed to chart their own destiny, make their own mistakes and learn their own lessons.
Developing primary school and secondary school programmes must be continued and expanded. There must be greater focus on getting more young girls playing the sport at a younger age.
We know FIFA has the resources to make such things a reality. It has done this elsewhere and we are encouraged to see the Caribbean finally getting due consideration.
For women’s football to grow in the way we would all like to see it we strongly believe that organisation and finance is the key. And of course, planning and delivery critical.
What is wrong with the idea of empowering women to change the face of women’s football?.
To become a major change agent with the power to grow the sport along development principles, it is essential that a proper functioning, broad based committee be put together. Run by women and focused on women and young girls. We must be provided with a greater level of autonomy.
Put simply, give us the tools to do the job and allow us to do it.
