Celebrating Women in Football
Women in Football: An imagination or reality?
Football is unarguably the most popular sport in the world. As a Malaysian, think about “two teams playing captivating football on the field”, who would you see in your imagination? The truth is: “None of the sports we know should only belong to a gender” but why aren’t more people aware about women in their football boots? Shouldn’t women’s football be cheered for just the same as men’s on the field?
In a highly masculine sport world, many would question if a women’s team is needed, especially when the public are not exposed to the notion of Malaysian women in football and their historical achievement. If we wonder how far women’s football can go, we can look back at how far our legendary women footballers have brought us. The performance of Malaysia women’s squad in the recent AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying games has received mixed reactions from local football enthusiasts. Historically, the women Harimau Malaya achieved a fourth place finishing in 1975 and the best result of a podium finish (third place) in 1983. We have shone at the Asian stage.
No matter which role you’re in - a footballer, a coach, a manager, a media personnel, a spectator, shouldn’t we ask ourselves what else we can do to regain the glory? How might we empower more women in and through football? Realising that if we want to go far, we need to go together, Women in Football (WIF) Malaysia aspires to be the spark in this endeavour, in making women’s football visible again.
Building women’s grassroots football: Brick by brick
Football are embraced by the masses at the grassroots level; so it is only apt to build a brick from the ground up. The purpose of WIF is to create awareness about women’s football and be the platform for more women and girls to shine on the field. Some brilliant words from a former national athlete still lingered: “Everyone shines on the field differently”. The keyword here is everyone. We can still be the beam of light if we fulfil our potential to play our best in the grassroots. WIF’s inaugural Women in Football Carnival aims to do just that.
The carnival will be held at Kopa Arena, Penang from the 3rd to 5th December 2021. Being inclusive and open for every woman and girl above the age of 18, the event will bring together a football family who values and celebrates football wholeheartedly. For the first time, four teams will be hosted and play round-robin matches against each other; one will emerge as the winner. Nevertheless, competition is not the ultimate goal but a bridge. Through this carnival, the all-women team behind WIF Malaysia hopes to gather like-minded women to regenerate the ecosystem of women’s football. Perhaps it was the same game, similar love for the game, that brought four of them together in the License D Coaching programme organised by the Football Association of Malaysia.
With the carnival on the horizon, we can only be hopeful for what would transpire after this. How mighty we can be, if we work together for a common vision, a common goal, and a common good?
For football.
How does the carnival look like and who else are onboard to chart this exciting path? Stay tune for the next cover.
Written by Yong-yee Chong @yongyeechong
for Women in Football Malaysia @wifmalaysia
