Holly Nixon, the New Zealand Football Women’s Development Manager, says Girls and Women’s Week is a special week on the football calendar. We caught up with Nixon to talk about how the event is slightly different in 2018 and how this year will be significant for women’s football both on the world stage and here at home.

What is the aim of Girls and Women’s Week?

The aim of Girls and Women’s Week is to get more girls and women into football. Whether that is by playing, coaching, referring or administration. We hold girls and women’s weeks at the beginning of the year, prior to the winter footballing season. By creating fun experiences and opportunities during girls and women’s week we hope that girls and women will want to carry within football for the season ahead.

Girls and Women’s Week is slightly different this year with the Federations hosting their own week; why is that and how has it worked?

In previous years we have hosted Girls and Women’s Week within one week. This has worked well but this year we have opted to try something different. This year, each Federation has been able to host girls and women’s week on a week that best suits them. This is because the Federations winter seasons start dates differ and we want to meet the needs of each. Also, by spreading girls and women’s week over five weeks we have been able to see an increase in female sporting coverage on different media channels. This is a key area we need to carry on improving because if girls and women see other girls and women participating, then there is a greater chance they will get in and give it a go.

What are some of the numbers attending these sessions and what has some of the feedback been like?

We reach nearly 10,000 girls and women every year throughout the country during girls and women’s week. The number of people we reach is important but the experience we provide is even more important. We want girls and women to fall in love with football.

One of the most memorable pieces of feedback that brings a smile to my face every time I recall it, is from Emma Evans, the Capital Football Women’s Development Officer. She sent me a picture of two young girls who had the biggest grins on their faces, they had never played football or futsal before and they did not want to leave the primary schools festival that Emma was running. They said it was the best day of their lives!

It has been an exciting time lately with the launch of the Kate Sheppard Cup and a number of other initiatives driving women’s football?

This year is the year of women’s football. Everything we do in the girls and women’s game is exciting because we are constantly challenging to make it better. The exciting things we have coming up this year are; we launched the Kate Sheppard Cup. This was a significant moment in New Zealand women’s football. Kate Sheppard is a role model for women worldwide. We had the Honorable Grant Robertson [Minister of Sport] unveil the cup and he also highlighted that there has been some progress made but women’s sport in New Zealand still has a long way to go and it would be his “number one priority” as sports minister.

Coaches and administrators are a vital part of developing the women’s game and this year we have changed it up. Rather than having just one administration conference we are having seven, in each Federation, so we can get more people involved and helping us achieve our goals. This year we are also introducing a female coach scholarship programme, we aim to help more women develop as coaches because diversity is important in developing the game.

Our National Women’s Football League is extending to two rounds this year. This is exciting because it is a great step forward for the women’s game. We have also had the Futsal National women’s competition take place earlier this year and that was a lot of fun and it is great to see the development of the women’s futsal game getting better year after year.

We also have an exciting year ahead for our Football Ferns and age group teams. The U-17 and U-20 football teams have their World Cups this year and the U-18 Futsal team have qualified for the Youth Olympics in October.

This year the Football Ferns will look to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in France next year – and our age group women’s teams are at World Cups – how important are they to creating the heroes for young women and inspiring the next generation?

Positive role models are very important, not just in women’s football but football as a whole. Our national team players play a big role in inspiring our next generation, but so do our Mums, Sisters and all the other wonderful females doing remarkable things. One of the biggest issues in New Zealand sport is female role models are hardly seen. It’s important to highlight the amazing things our females are doing, especially women in football, so others can see that it can be done. So I challenge you all, we live in an age where word of mouth and social media is a key driver in the spread of information, which means you can make a difference. The next time you see or hear of a female doing inspiring things in sport – share it and challenge your friends to share it and engage with it.

Why should young women Get in to Football?

There are a lot of opportunities to get into football. Anyone can play no matter what size, shape, age, race, ethnicity or gender. One day you could even go to the Olympics, a World Cup or gain a professional contract with a club, or you could enjoy playing for your local club in Matamata on a Saturday afternoon. That’s the great thing about football there is something for everyone. Football is also fun and a great way hang out with friends, make new ones and learn important values that you can use in your day to day life. It is a good way to keep fit and healthy. I like to call it unintentional exercise or exercise in disguise, you don’t realise your exercising because you are running around having fun. Similar to how parents like to disguise vegetables in their children’s meals! It’s a win-win!

To learn more about how you can Get in to Football visit: www.getintofootball.co.nz