This year from 28 October to 16 November, the first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be held in four cities in New Zealand. The hosts certainly have the potential to cause some upsets on the pitch.
New Zealand is better known for its hulking great rugby players and rugged sailors than it is for football. But later this “, this strongly felt sporting identity may take on a different and more feminine slant when the future stars of international women’s football take to he fields of the southernmost Oceanic nation’s finest stadiums to compete for the first ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The newest addition to FIFA’s glittering portfolio of World Cup events will be held from 28 October to 16 November 2008 in four cities, of which two (Auckland and Christchurch) were venues for the successful men’s version of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in New Zealand just under a decade ago. The North Harbour Stadium on Auckland’s sandy North Shore won an award for best venue at the 1999 event and once again, the 25,000 capacity, multi-purpose facility will host the opening game and finals, as well as the firs: two games of the New Zealand team.
INCONSISTENCY
Drawn against Colombia, Canada and Denmark, a fairy-tale run to the next stage for the hosts will be a hard ask. New Zealand coach Paul Temple comments, “It is definitely a tough group. Colombia are the South American champions, and given the strength of football in that region, I think they start as favourites. Canada and Denmark are powerhouses of the women’s game and have good records at major tournaments. So it is going to be a massive challenge and we will certainly be underdogs. But what really counts is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. We certainly have the chance to cause some upsets and
do well against the more fancied teams in our group.”
The mixed bag of results in New Zealand’s preparation matches indeed suggests that the hosts could potentially cause some upsets. Starting their pro¬gramme in July 2007, the New Zealand U-17 squad took part in the Australian National Youth Championships, playing state teams a year older in age. Making the semi-finals in Australia, New Zealand went on to play Korea Republic in a tri-series at home in December 2007, chalking up a 1-1 draw and 2-1 and 6-0 losses. A month later, New Zealand again hosted the quadrangular Future Stars tournament and suffered further losses against perennial favourites USA (5-0) and Germany (4-0) as well as against trans-Tasman neighbours Australia {1 -0), over whom they then went on to enjoy back-to-back 4-0 wins in April, More recently, they were on the wrong side of a 4-0 scoreline against Paraguay in Asuncion, but quickly turned it around 72 hours later with a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
“The main frustration I have had has been our inconsistency in performances,” adds Temple. “But this is to be expected with players who are still very young in football terms. We have also had quite a few injuries and haven’t been able to put
the best eleven on the pitch yet, but it is also encouraging because we have more
to come.”
MANY FAVOURITES
What the New Zealand team has in store will hopefully be out in force when they play the third game of the first round against Colombia in Wellington. The capital city is the home of New Zealand’s only professional football team (Wellington Phoenix who play in the Australian A-League) and is well known for really getting behind sporting events. The support of the locals will be crucial to filling the 35,000 capacity, state-of-the-art Wellington Stadium (or Cake Tin as it is often labelled due to its appearance from above). Wellington residents also have other reasons to come out in droves — playing in their city are crowd favourites Brazil and England, as well as Nigeria and Korea Republic, in what will be an extremely exciting group to watch.
Tighter still may be the matches between the Group C teams, which will be played in Christchurch. It is anyone’s guess who will advance from France, the USA, Paraguay and Japan, but the USA have had strong results in their warm-up games (including a 2-1 win over Germany in the Future Stars tournament in New Zealand) and Japan, who were top qualifiers in Asia, could have a slight edge over the rest of the group.
Favourites to move through to the quarter-finals are Germany and Korea DPR from Group B. In addition to these two title contenders, Hamilton – the smallest host city of the four — will also enjoy African and Central American flair with Ghana and Costa Rica respectively making up the group. The teams will play in the recently renovated Waikato stadium and will no doubt experience the best of the rural region’s hospitality.
REALLY EXCITED
Regardless of who goes through from these four well-balanced groups, the New Zealand public will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the future stars of women’s football – the budding Martas and Birgit Prinzes. This is bound to be an extra treat for the very high ratio of female players in New Zealand (a third of junior players are girls and a quarter of all adult players are women) as well as a considerable opportunity for the sport to demonstrate its true international flavour and significant development over the past decade. This opportunity is not lost on New Zealand Football chairman Frank van Hattum: “Hopefully we will have a successful tournament that meets the high objectives we have set ourselves. Of equal importance is that everyone involved will go away having had a wonderful experience. The learning experience for coaches, players and administrators is also an important outcome. We fully expect to see more people exposed to the game, to try it, be excited by it and feel good about it.”
The young women who will be proudly representing Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand, which means “land of the long white cloud”) at the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup are adamant that they will also be doing their very best to inspire a future generation of footballers. The parting words about what this World Cup means to them is best left in their hands:
Fifteen-year-old Rosie White on what she would like New Zealand to achieve in this tournament: “I would love the Young Football Ferns to get through the
group stages and make a bit of history in New Zealand.”
Seventeen-year-old Annalie Longo (who is already a veteran of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Russia 2006 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007) on what will be different about this FIFA World Cup™ for her: “Playing a FIFA World Cup™ in your own country Having friends and family there to support you, and playing in my own age group is pretty exciting.”
Seventeen-year-old Caitlin Campbell (who played in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Russia) on what it will be like to play in front of a home crowd: “We are all really excited at the thought of playing in front of a home crowd. Not many people get to play a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in their home country and we are lucky enough to have the first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s tournament here. It’s going to be a huge adrenaline rush but we are going to savour every minute of it.”
Seventeen-year-old captain Briony Fisher on the same question: “This is the first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and it’s being held in New Zealand. Sometimes I think I am dreaming as I can’t believe I have this incredibly rare opportunity to show the world how Kiwis play football. I get to play the sport I love on home soil in front of my friends and family and all of our supporters, while showing young Kiwi footballers what opportunities lie ahead of them.”
Lace cuffs perhaps, gentlemen?
Uniform does not have to mean dull, drab, or characterless. Football referees have quite a pedigree of fashion to distinguish them from players.
In the 1890s, life was simple for the arbiter because the gentlemen players decided most of their differences between themselves. The referee, usually bearded, could stand in the centre of the field in a long black coat, top hat, polished shoes with spats, and communicate directions by waving a gold-topped cane (figure 1). He could even be smoking a cigar and digesting a copious Old Boys lunch, rounded off with a fine brandy. Those were the days, my friends; those were the days.
RIDING BREECHES IN 1930
Soon after, two umpires appeared on the field holding small flags and acting mainly as goal judges. Figure 2 illustrates a moment during the 1891 FA Cup Final
that shows one official kitted out in the style of the day and wearing glasses.
One year later, at Charterhouse School, the Old Boys met the Old Carthusians Internationals on the playing fields in front of the impressive college chapel. The referee looked elegant in a black cap, white short-sleeved shirt, cream breeches, grey-brown stockings and tan boots (figure 3). He epitomised the image of a gentleman amateur referee of the time. William Pickford wrote in his 1906 book How to Referee that “In the first place, the referee must be a gentleman.” He enlightens us as to the qualities of a gentleman thus; “it is to be firm as well as courteous, to treat all men as brothers until they prove unworthy of the confidence, to be tactful in manner, to be honest and truthful, just
to all, bearing neither temper, malice or ill-will, and yet fearless, decisive, and capable.”
With the arrival of competition, the game needed an active official to follow the play and be close to incidents. For ease of movement, Pickfotd advised “a light, loose garb — attire of simple character, avoiding flaring colours and any eccentricities of dress.” The front cover of his book (figure 4) shows a turn-of-the-century referee in full sprint wearing a cap, shirt and tie, jacket and knickerbockets tucked into black stockings with white tops. He wore football boots — probably the celebrated McGregor laced ankle-to-toe model available for the equivalent of 48 pence, or large sizes at 64 pence, post free.
Three contrasting styles. seen at the 1927 Italy v. Spain match, refereed by Sir Stanley Rous, emphasised the lack of uniformity in uniforms. — John Langerus, the Belgian referee of 81 international marches, wore” riding breeches at the historic 1930 FIFA World Cup final in Uruguay and sometimes a woollen cap, even in sweltering heat. With his immaculate white shirt and tie he did not need to change for dinner. Jim Wiltshire, born in Cornwell, preferred a comfortable black woollen pullover – smart and very practical in British winters – and wore it for this 1947 match between Belgium and Holland.
After World War II, Ken Aston put his mind to the need for a standard design for referee uniforms and persuaded manufacturers to buy up stocks of war¬time blackout fabrics. The good-quality cotton proved ideal for all seasons and was adopted for thousands of uniforms to a basic design.
Nylon edged out cotton after a few years because it was cheaper and easily cut to patterns. Although it lacked the softness and warmth of cotton, its glossy sheen looked more modern. The style spread to other countries, but at the 1966 FIFA World Cup™ final we saw the Russian referee, Tofik Bakhramov, displaying his country’s preferred style in black wool and a white belt.
ATHLETES IN CIVVIES
Black remained the official choice, although in matches where players wore colours which could cause confusion, the referee might choose something less conflicting — such as the red, green and yellow striped college blazer worn by Leslie Mackay in a 1950s international match where Scotland played in dark blue. In a Ghanaian first division match, my white face and knees were not distinct enough to avoid a possible clash when Cape Coast Vipers turned out in their all-black strip against Accra Olympics. My only option was to wear a blue and white striped towelling beach shirt: that served the purpose without fuss.
In the 1960s, some of us were bored with the funereal black for match officials – it had become too dull for the third team in a modern game that was blooming as an exciting, colourful spectacle. We admired a trio of Dutch officials who came to London for a European match. Even before setting foot on the pitch, they created a favourable impression with their dress and demeanour. All three were groomed in smart black blazers, white shirts, colourful Dutch FA ties, grey worsted trousers and shining black shoes. With short hairstyles they looked fit — athletes in civvies – a team proudly representing their football association and country. But it was their field uniform which opened dulled eyes. Over black shorts, white-topped stockings and lightweight football boots, they sported crimson rugby-style long-sleeved shirts with white collars and cuffs. They contrasted sharply with the players and looked an elegant and integral part of a sporting spectacle. The march was hotly
contested but the third ream had an excellent game and kept it in check with impressive confidence.
ALTERNATIVE STYLES
In 1967, the Association of Football League Referees and Linesmen (AFLR&L) organised a ground-breaking annual conference at the Crystal Palace Sports Centre, London. Denis Howell, popularly known as the “M.P. Referee” and the first minister for sport, described it as “an exciting development” in his book Soccer Refereeing, He wrote: “The Association has turned its annual conference from a talking shop about refereeing politics into practical sessions dealing with techniques of match control. This is a very sensible and worthwhile development which must bring good results.”
Previous conferences had attracted mostly retired referees and the event was more a social gathering than a meeting of active league officials. The new format appealed to the majority of serving league officials and drew many to the sports complex. Top administrators of The Football Association and the Football League attended and took part in discussions ranging from on-field control to protection against violence.
One topic focussed on referees’ uniforms. We arranged for a supplier to provide us with several alternative styles to the familiar all-black image. Varied designs and colours of half and full-sleeved jerseys, shirts, jackets, shorts and stockings were modelled by self-conscious volunteers in
a fashion parade who were subjected to humorous banter from their colleagues. A questionnaire invited comments and votes for preferred models but the outcome was disappointing – those present indicated by a small majority that they were not ready to move away from the old black attire.
FASHION-WISE LADIES
It would be another twenty years or so before colour and styling was introduced into the British version of the referee’s uniform. The Premier League, formed in 1992, introduced green-shirted officials with green-topped black stockings, and has since changed the styles and colouring of the uniform fairly regularly. Traditionalists are appalled to see that some referees are obliged to wear uniforms bearing publicity logos or a sponsor’s message.
On the global scene, the FIFA World Cup™ tournaments since 1990 have featured referees in black, grey, burgundy, yellow, blue and green outfits. Most modern styles fit the image of an athlete with a vital role in today’s game (figure 9).
Despite the rainbow selection on offer in other countries, the Football Association in England still prefers its referees to wear traditional black but allows a little styling with white flashes or piping. The latest designs are worn by male and female referees but, with growing numbers of the fair sex taking up the whistle, it may not be long before the referee’s uniform shows interesting variations to cater for the fashion-wise ladies.
Lace cuffs perhaps, gentlemen?
New logos – same quality. New logos for footballs – but the test criteria remain the same. The FIFA INSPECTED and the top FIFA APPROVED quality marks continue to quarantee that a ball meets FIFA’s most stringent requirments and that it is ready for spectacular goals – whether by the best football players in the world today or by the stars of tomorrow.
