THIS week Cyprus has been hosting its third international Women’s Cup, in which eight teams from around the globe will battle it out ahead of Wednesday’s final. One team that is conspicuously absent from the line up, however, is the host nation.
This is not for want of a team: a Cyprus women’s team has been around for years. The reason for its absence was put simply enough by the tour operator for the tournament, Urban Norstum – the team is just not yet ready to play the world’s elite. “It would not be fair,” he says.
But it raises the question of why in a country with such an enthusiastic football culture, where the Apoel/Omonia allegiance is fanatical, its women’s team is ranked 42nd in the continent and below Gabon globally.
On the inaugural day of the tournament, I met up with Cyprus’ coach and veteran player, Louisa Anastasiou, to get an overview of the emerging women’s game.
The main reason for the low profile throughout the tournament, Anastasiou tells me, is the CFA’s decision last August to shift its focus to the grassroots, under-19 game.
The aim is to give the younger generation time to develop their skills and mature as players. To this end the CFA has provided all the necessary infrastructure and staff.
“The Federation is doing excellent work and they try to give us all facilities until now, and it is paying off. Since September (When Anastasiou took over coaching the squad) they have improved a lot.”
With equipment and staff taken care of, some key developmental areas have emerged. For Anastasiou, success now depends on getting more players, exposure and training time, all of which require cash.
The Catch-22 is familiar to all sports fans; you need cash to raise talent, and talent to raise cash.
“There is an attitude here that football is for men. For example, Apoel and Omonia have no women’s teams, but many women fans,” Anastasiou points out.
“Were the big teams to field a women’s team, it could increase exposure and attract new talent, paving the way for sponsorship.”
With sponsorship, the team could get more women into the game and dedicate more time to training. “Only the foreign women footballers who play in the league here, for example, Apollon Ladies are professional,”
It’s easy to see how the current arrangement limits development. For example, while eight of the world’s best women’s teams were practising ahead of the Cyprus Women’s Cup, most of the Cypriot team members who should have been preparing for last Tuesday’s friendly game against Poland, which was not part of the tournament, were at school or work. By the end of the match itself, six players on the field were from the under-19 squad.
“Out of 18 players, I think 12 did not even eat a proper meal before yesterday’s match, and I had only two days of training to prepare. Normally I am lucky to get three days a month with the squad,” says Anastasiou.
It is reminiscent of the schism between Rugby League and Rugby Union in England, where northern players rebelled because they received no compensation for lost earnings on match days. Their richer southern rivals could afford to continue playing.
Of course, there is a professional women’s league here with 10 teams and CFA backing, but as Anastasiou says, “there are no professional Cypriot players in the league, they all come from Romania or Bulgaria. If we could offer, say 500 euros per month, then we could get many more girls playing.”
Perhaps needless to say, Cyprus lost the game against Poland 3-0.
However Anastasiou remains upbeat. “We have improved a lot in the last eight years. A few years ago we might have lost ten nil. The game was good because it really showed the players’ level, and it is improving.”
According to Cyprus Women’s Cup Tournament director, Stefano Faiella, Scotland faced a similar dilemma a few years ago, but he now enthuses about the prospects of Scottish women’s football.
“The growth rate in the women’s game is enormous now. For Cyprus, the key thing is to increase participation and development, and not necessarily in a competitive structure.”
Asked about funding he said: “there are returns to be made. For countries that are open to it, such as Scandinavia there are returns at the gates, and with UEFA backing the Champions League there is a return of image”
This can pave the way for sponsorship and product sales. “People underestimate the market for women’s sports equipment. Now sports brands are starting to market women’s football kit, such as better fitting tops and boots,” he says.
Promoting the game, he says, is about treating women’s football as a product, to attract fans and investors. “There are a few people for whom the quality of the game is the key to sponsorship, so it’s all about creating a good product.
“There are many people who dismiss women’s football but have never been to a game. Soon people will recognise the quality of the football and it is by no means substandard.”
Wandering around the training pitches during a warm up session, the teams certainly look professional. Outside of the men’s premier league in the UK, it is the highest standard of football I have seen in person.
Cyprus’ population, which is smaller than Birmingham’s, will always be a limiting factor, and there is a long way to go before its footballing potential can be realised. But, the resources are in place to get this going; it is now up to the FA and education authorities to attract young talent to the game.
