Championing Girls Football in Doha
The FIFA Women’s World Cup takes place in France this summer as football makes great strides in recognizing the impact and benefits of female participation in high-level competitive sports. With a well-established player development programme in place within the Football Association back in the UK, the future for women in football is very bright indeed. But what about closer to home? With England’s women football team arriving in January to train in Qatar for the first time and Qatar in line to host the World’s premier footballing event in 2022 – is it time for the girls to take the limelight?
Promoting Girls Football
Various soccer coaching companies offer opportunities for ladies to nurture their talents and schools are doing their bit by promoting girls football through inter-school tournaments. One such school, which is already making giant strides with its girls’ football teams, is Kings College Doha, who were recently crowned champions of the Schools League in Doha for the second year running. This clearly indicates great progress is already being made.
Director of Sport at King’s, Ian Hutchinson, gives a wider insight into the girls’ success:
“We recognise the benefits of competitive sport for all our pupils and ensure opportunities exist for students from all ages and gender.”
Our Year 4 girls excelled themselves in the recent Qatar Primary Schools tournament held at the impressive Aspire Park, home of teams such as Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich, during their winter training. Achievements like this are incredibly inspiring to our whole school community.
“We believe the King’s girls football teams show that no barriers exist for any of our girls if they choose to pursue their dreams through any sport.”
Could it be Qatar’s turn next for the Women’s World Cup in 2023?
Kings College will certainly be ready.