Soccer: Schoolgirls now in a league of their own

Haley Gleeson takes a St Cuthbert's training session. Photo / Doug Sherring

Call it dribble-down theory. The relative success of the New Zealand women's football team is believed to be paying direct dividends in the lower echelons of the game. Playing numbers are increasing and, in an Auckland intermediate school age case study, a new league has been created to cater for the demand.

There has been a steady rise in the Football Ferns' rankings to as high as 16 in December after winning their first international tournament outside Oceania in 38 years in September when they beat Brazil (ranked fourth) for the first time and China (16th) to win the Valais Cup in Switzerland.

They also had draws with world champions Japan and the No1-ranked United States along with wins over Scotland, Italy and Switzerland for a 2013 record of five wins, three draws and three defeats. They slipped to 20th in March with five losses, a draw and a win, and lost 2-1 to Japan on Thursday but, given their ranking was 24th as recently as March 2012, improvement has been tangible. It began with an inaugural quarter-final appearance at the 2012 Olympics. New Zealand's under-17 and under-20 teams have also shown promise at age group World Cups. Such performances have justified sustained investment by New Zealand Football and High Performance Sport New Zealand with a World Cup in Canada next year.

Auckland Football Federation girls and women's development officer Brenda Kerr says those performances have made a difference.

"Younger players at school level stress this in interviews. It's great for getting engagement and we're combining that by trying to work with schools and clubs to create holiday programmes so we get them playing football year round."

New Zealand Football said 26,991 women players were registered in 2013, a 15 per cent increase on 2011 which, in turn, was a 19 per cent increase on 2009.

A direct impact is a new football league catering for students in years seven and eight who once had to play against much older girls if they wanted to cut it in the sport.

Haley Gleeson coaches at St Cuthbert's College who had two sides in the seven-team, 13-week league that debuted at Bill McKinley Park on Wednesday. Auckland Football's research suggests young women are most trainable in the 9-13 age group.

"When females leave primary school they'd generally join an 11-a-side team on a full pitch against others as old as 15," Gleeson says. "This competition is designed as a better introduction to the sport where it's nine-on-nine played on a quarter pitch. Players get more touches on the ball, they learn to pass and tackle against those of a similar size, it's easier to form a team and they don't get too discouraged."

"With great achievements like New Zealand's victory over Brazil [in September], we've seen more girls come into the sport. They're beginning to see a professional pathway. We've seen Sarah Gregorius play in the German women's Bundesliga and at Liverpool. Netball is obviously a big local sport, but football provides a step up internationally."