On the eve of New Zealand Football's Girls and Women's Week kicking off, hear from Women's Development Manager Holly Nixon on her personal journey in football and why she is encouraging more females to take up the beautiful game. 

My first memory of football is being dragged around Hong Kong. Playing underneath the concrete stadiums with the kids whilst our fathers were playing on the grass pitch above.

Fast forward five years, I was playing at Dey Street Park in Hamilton, New Zealand and being mistaken as a boy as my mum believed cutting my hair short would make it grow long and luscious.

My parents had enough children to make an after dinner footy game equal. My team always won of course.

Another ten years on, I was being mentored by Football Ferns legend Katie Duncan on the Hillcrest High School pitch on how to survive high school. It was my first experience playing with and against other females.

My favorite childhood coach was Lesley Letcher. Her perfect football pyramids prior to trainings and ‘no hands in pockets’ have stuck with me for life.

I spent my youth at Claudelands Rovers. Dave Edmonson’s dedication and perseverance developed us into the nation’s best team. We were not able to train on Tuesdays or Thursdays because they were the men’s training nights. I created lifelong friends and the drive for equality was ignited.

My idol was Maia Jackman, if you don’t know who she is then google her as she is a legend.

I had a privileged, football-rich upbringing and consider myself very lucky. I can’t play football anymore thanks to two ACL reconstructions which is hard.

But now I am sitting at my desk at New Zealand Football, I look to my right and the Wellington Phoenix football team is training, I look straight ahead and PSG are beating Man United 2-0 while behind me is a signed Football Ferns shirt from the OFC Nations Cup, which secured their place at the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

I am putting the final touches on our Girls and Women’s Week campaign, which makes the non-playing part of it a little easier to swallow.

New Zealand Football alongside our seven federations run a yearly campaign called Girls and Women’s Week. The purpose of this week is to increase awareness and engagement with the aim of getting more girls and women playing and loving football and futsal.

This year, the campaign is running from 14 to 22 February, just before our winter football season kicks off. Each federation runs a range of activations that take place throughout the week and this year we are lucky enough to have a few Football Ferns on home soil as they prepare for the World Cup. Those players will be travelling around the country with us to inspire all those taking part in the week’s activities.

But why do we have a Girls and Women’s Week and why is female football a top priority for New Zealand Football?

Below are some statistics which highlight the reasons behind that and why we are trying to create change. These figures come from Sport New Zealand and reflect our sporting landscape as a whole.

• Governance in sport is 73 per cent male, 27 per cent female
• Leadership and management in sport is 60 per cent male, 40 per cent female
• Coaching is 70 per cent male, 30 per cent female
• Players are 80 per cent male, 20 per cent female (but on average females of all ages are more likely than males to want to participate more)
• Online news coverage of the Rio Olympics from major New Zealand media sites dedicated 28 per cent of its coverage to women’s events and 43.5 per cent to men
   

The above shows that females are underrepresented in our sports. Just over half of our population is missing out on the benefits playing or being involved in sport gives. So what are those benefits and why should girls and women be involved? The following are all based on research: 

• Sport can help girls and women grow up healthy and confident
• They have greater social and economic mobility
• They perform better in school
• They have greater personal safety
• They are less likely to take drugs
• Helps leaders rise (74 per cent of female leaders played sport)
• Football and sport in general is a powerful tool for social change
   

We are a sports-mad nation and we also have our fair share of social issues. As a sport, I believe we can help solve some of these issues to help make New Zealand a better country to live.

How can you create change for the better? Just remember, a wise lady once said: “Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops.”

For more information on Girls and Women’s Week and how you can get into female football please click here

Article added: Thursday 14 February 2019