BASSETERRE St. Kitts – IN an effort to raise the level of awareness of sports enthusiasts and the skills of women footballers in the Federation, the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) held its first full season of women football in 2013.
This initiative sought to build a platform upon which the SKNFA will have players both at the national senior and youth levels to choose from.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes Sports, General Secretary of the SKNF Association Stanley Jacobs revealed that the initiative is one which seeks to develop players’ all-round ability.
He noted that the inclusion of women into football is not only an SKNFA initiative, noting that the governing body for world football (FIFA) has found it import to include more women in the sport as the population of women has seen a significant growth over the years, and it’s only fitting that they tap into that large growth of football players.
“I was making the point that the women’s league is very important for the development of women’s football, because we will be able to produce national youth players and also our national senior players who will be able to participate in world cup qualifiers”
“The President of FIFA has made the point that the future of football is feminine. And that is to say that if we are to grow the sport globally we would have to include women because they represent 50 percent of the global population. And it only makes sense to tap into that large resource of football players,” Jacobs said.
He informed that for 2013 the focus on women football was also geared at assisting young female players to “develop academic scholarships”.
“Currently, we have two of our national female players on football scholarships in the United States, and so it opens up a whole lot of opportunities also to our young women.”
The General Secretary revealed to SKNVibes Sports that Newtown United FC team had dominated the Women Football Competition in 2013 from the first whistle of the season to the final kick and was crowned the Federation’s Champions.
The women’s league, according to the General Secretary is expected to continue long into the future.
