Maltese participants in the UEFA Women’s Study Group

In line with the Malta FA’s on-going efforts to attract more females to get involved in women’s football either as a player, coach or administrator, a group of Maltese participants attended the UEFA Women’s Study Group, held in Edinburgh, Scotland in the first week of October. Dorianne Theuma, Karen Haneghan, Mary Muscat and Josette Sant, together with Pierre Brincat, the Director of Women’s Football, took part in a three-day seminar.  “It was a very interesting and thorough seminar presented by the Scottish FA who shared their experience and knowledge on their efforts to boost youth development in women’s football in Scotland,” Brincat told mfa.com.mt.  “Every delegation delivered a presentation on the projects and initiatives related to the development of women’s football in their respective countries. “Our sessions also featured talks and demonstrations by coaches who work at high-profile clubs like Celtic and with the national squads, including Shelly Kerr, the newly-appointed coach of the Scotland women’s team. “We also attended a women’s league game between Hibernian and Celtic. “Undoubtedly, it has been a very useful learning experience for all of us and we will strive to implement some of the ideas that emerged from this seminar.” Theuma, who plays for Hibernians and the national team, and is also a coach at the MFA Academy and U-19 coach of Kirkop United, also commented favourably about the seminar. “It was certainly beneficial as I had the opportunity to learn more about the methods applied by other associations that work on a professional basis,” she explained.  Meanwhile, Muscat and Sant, who work with Mġarr United and Mosta respectively, took part in this seminar as administrators. Both of them relished the opportunity to share their experiences with other countries while gaining more knowledge on how associations work in women’s football.  Karen Heneghan, coach at the Sliema Wanderers Youth Nursery, said: “I was honoured to participate in the recent UEFA study group scheme focusing on women’s football. Our hosts Scotland, and the other participating countries, Croatia, Iceland and Slovenia, were very supportive of the good work by done in Malta to increase and develop further women’s football. “By and large, all countries agreed that increasing player numbers in the younger age bracket should be the principal aim as this leads to sustained growth, thus strengthening women’s football in the long term.”