Thousands of females are currently falling in love with the game all over the country as Girls and Women’s Football Weeks continue to be held in each of the seven federations. The initiative is part of New Zealand Football’s wider ‘Get In to Football’ campaign, which is focused on the key strategic goal of more New Zealanders playing and loving football.

In a significant change from previous years, Girls and Women’s Football Week is being run by each federation at a time that is most suitable to their own needs and situation, rather than all federations running them in the same week. The Auckland, Central and Capital federations staged their campaigns last month while the respective weeks of WaiBOP and Northern have just wrapped up. Mainland are holding their campaign this week with Southern set to follow suit the following week.

At the heart of each week are a range of activities including school festivals, skill centres, tournaments, coaching courses and referee workshops while Football Ferns stars such as Sarah Gregorius, Annalie Longo and Rosie White are also involved.

In Wellington, Capital Football’s Girls and Women’s Week coincided with the hosting of the Futsal National Women’s League, giving the federation the chance to further spread the gospel of one of the country’s fastest-growing sports.

“Over 1,400 girls from various primary and intermediate schools took part throughout the week, with many of these trying futsal for the first time,” says Capital Football Women’s Development Officer Emma Evans.

“The festivals were designed for players of all abilities and gave girls a chance to try futsal in a safe and enjoyable environment with their peers. With support from the local primary schools, the festivals aimed to break down barriers to participating in sport in the hope that girls will leave having had a positive experience, feeling confident and wanting to return.”

Capital also held a coach and referee education day for female high school students, which had the desired effect.

“It has been fantastic to see many of these students already putting their hands up to referee in our local futsal leagues, as well as connecting with local clubs to see what coaching opportunities are available to them,” Evans says.

“We look forward to providing this cohort of female high school students with further education, opportunities and pathways, and are excited to see these students inspire others throughout the upcoming season.”

Girls and Women’s Week has also been a resounding success in the Northern Football region, where Women’s Development Officer Hayley Stirling has overseen a series of inspirational events.

“Our week has seen over 500 current and new football players engaged in girls-only activations,” she says.

“Clubs and schools joined forces to help deliver the activity, such as Greenhithe Football Club, who hosted a four-vs-four festival which attracted 35 girls from three different clubs and a couple of teams from Flanshaw Road School,” she adds.

“Parrs Park then played host to a primary schools festival which attracted over 130 participants from various schools in the west Auckland region. The day was filled with smiles, goals and fun and what was really pleasing was the number of female teaching staff and parents that provided support for the girls to really make it a real female event.”

Northern also held an ethnic tournament involving teams from New Zealand, Tuvalu and Japan with the latter coming out on top after beating the Kiwis on penalties in a scoreless final. On the futsal front, the junior girls futsal league continued to provide an opportunity for players to enjoy the small-sided format and Northern’s senior team dropped in to pass on some pointers to those looking to follow in their footsteps.

Up in Northland, prominent local coach Kezia Singleton promoted the girls game in several primary schools and was assisted by Caitlin Alabaster and Anya Gross, well-known footballers in the area who helped pass on their knowledge to over 160 girls.

The attention now turns to the South Island, where Football Ferns star Annalie Longo will be sharing her enthusiasm for the game in her other role as Women’s Development Officer for Mainland Football. Events are scheduled for Christchurch United and Selwyn School, as well as a coaching course and futsal festival.