the love of the game.

Sunday, May 18, 2008, 6:09 PM

If a girl wants to play, let her play
artical from www.todayonline.com
Fifa instructor says conditions in Singapore
conducive to growth of women's football
Shamir Osman
shamir@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE is a lot closer to winning a World Cup than you think.

In women's football, that is.

Fifa instructor Monika Staab, one of the pioneers of women's football, has been in town
for the past week-and-a-half to promote the game, as well as advise the Football
Association of Singapore (FAS) on how to improve standards here.

And Staab, who guided FFC Frankfurt to victory at the inaugural Uefa Women's Cup in 2002, is impressed by what she has seen here.

"The setting here is good. There is structure, organisation, support and there is definitely talent here," Staab said yesterday, on the sidelines of a football clinic she held at CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity.

"More importantly, there are few cultural and religious barriers for women who want to get into the game. If a girl wants to play, let her play, and Singapore seems to have no problem with that.

"Singapore has good potential, it is at the same level as Germany was before women's football there started getting increased support."
The German women's football team played their first official match in 1982, a couple of years before what is now known as the Uefa Women's Championship began.

They lifted their first "Women's Euro" in 1989 and went on to win five of the subsequent six tournaments. The Germans team have also won twice and finished runners-up in five editions of the Fifa Women's World Cup, which began in 1991.

The Frankfurt-born Staab was pleased to see that the women's game is strongly backed by the FAS, which she said augurs well for the future of the sport here.

"The support from the FAS is good," said the 49-year-old. "They are doing many things right. The staff and management have adopted a very positive attitude, and there are strong characters present who will help push the game forward. Even the Government is keen on promoting a healthy lifestyle among the citizens here."

The next step would be for women's football to be as common and well supported as the men's.

"It must start from the grassroots, for girls to start playing when they're younger and with a network of talent scouts to spot and get them training from a young age, so that their basics will be strong," she said.

"But more importantly, the national team need to improve, to inspire the young and garner more support. "Through that the media will give increased coverage, which will then attract sponsors whose finances can buy teams better coaches and facilities.

"That will lead to improving the standard of players here. It is a cycle that Singapore must get into."

After all, that was the path women's football in Germany took.

"We (Germany) started in the same way, and now we are world champions," said Staab, who played for the Queens Park Rangers women's team from 1980 to 1982.

"The FAS are good with development and long-term planning.

"This is more developed in Europe, but Singapore will get there.

"You are well equipped for it."
Fifa instructor says conditions in Singapore conducive to growth of women's football
Shamir Osman
shamir@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE is a lot closer to winning a World Cup than you think.

In women's football, that is.

Fifa instructor Monika Staab, one of the pioneers of women's football, has been in town for the past week-and-a-half to promote the game, as well as advise the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on how to improve standards here.

And Staab, who guided FFC Frankfurt to victory at the inaugural Uefa Women's Cup in 2002, is impressed by what she has seen here.

"The setting here is good. There is structure, organisation, support and there is definitely talent here," Staab said yesterday, on the sidelines of a football clinic she held at CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity.

"More importantly, there are few cultural and religious barriers for women who want to get into the game. If a girl wants to play, let her play, and Singapore seems to have no problem with that.

"Singapore has good potential, it is at the same level as Germany was before women's football there started getting increased support."

The German women's football team played their first official match in 1982, a couple of years before what is now known as the Uefa Women's Championship began.

They lifted their first "Women's Euro" in 1989 and went on to win five of the subsequent six tournaments. The Germans team have also won twice and finished runners-up in five editions of the Fifa Women's World Cup, which began in 1991.

The Frankfurt-born Staab was pleased to see that the women's game is strongly backed by the FAS, which she said augurs well for the future of the sport here.

"The support from the FAS is good," said the 49-year-old. "They are doing many things right. The staff and management have adopted a very positive attitude, and there are strong characters present who will help push the game forward. Even the Government is keen on promoting a healthy lifestyle among the citizens here."

The next step would be for women's football to be as common and well supported as the men's.

"It must start from the grassroots, for girls to start playing when they're younger and with a network of talent scouts to spot and get them training from a young age, so that their basics will be strong," she said.

"But more importantly, the national team need to improve, to inspire the young and garner more support.

"Through that the media will give increased coverage, which will then attract sponsors whose finances can buy teams better coaches and facilities.

"That will lead to improving the standard of players here. It is a cycle that Singapore must get into."

After all, that was the path women's football in Germany took.

"We (Germany) started in the same way, and now we are world champions," said Staab, who played for the Queens Park Rangers women's team from 1980 to 1982.

"The FAS are good with development and long-term planning.

"This is more developed in Europe, but Singapore will get there.

"You are well equipped for it."

sorry if anythings are missed out. i had to type it out from what miss lim sent me.
here is the website to get it : http://www.todayonline.com/articles/254141.asp
OR
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/254141.asp but you have to go to page 58.
there is also a picture but i am unable to post it cause its attached to the article which is also a
picture. but i can't post the picture of the article because i don't know how to((:

so, THE END

posted by: angela