One of the foremost names in women’s football development says if the elite male clubs have female teams that also play a nationwide league as curtain raisers to the men’s game, it will provide greater appeal to the women in Ghana.
She said adding female sides to the Premiership clubs would not only ignite passion for the game but also attract a lot of talents and support from Ghanaians.
A nationwide women’s league, alongside the men’s game, she believes, will create a bigger pool of talents for national team coaches for international competitions.
“In Europe and other parts of the world, various men’s teams that play in top leagues also have female clubs with very competitive leagues as well, so it is about time our Premier League clubs started forming female teams,”
Habiba Atta, the only female on the FA’s 12-member ExCo, told the Graphic Sports Online in an interview.
She noted that the development of women’s football in Ghana had been retarded by the wrong perception that allowing women’s teams to engage in curtain-raisers for men’s matches would impact negatively on the fortunes of the male teams.
“Female footballers in Europe are no different from those in Africa, so if Europeans allow women to play matches alongside their men without any blemish, why can’t we do the same here?” she questioned.
Habiba Atta, who is also the founder and bankroller of Kumasi based Fabulous Ladies Football Club, said one of the main challenges facing owners of female clubs in Ghana was inadequate financial resources to run their teams and she believes that the challenge will be partly addressed if female teams are attached to male clubs which have bigger resources.
“Unlike the male teams that attract gate fees at the various stadia during competitive and friendly matches, all matches organised for female teams do not attract gate fees.
"That explains why it is so difficult to keep the women’s game attractive to young talents.”
“If we play the women’s league as a curtain-raiser for the men’s league, fans interested in female football would troop the stadium early to watch their clubs, thereby increasing the support base of the male teams as well. And with bigger crowds at our matches, we can then make a stronger case for corporate sponsorship,” she stated. Read Full Story
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