Ayrshire
Produce Women's Old Firm
Following
the statement in my match report on Sunday about the two teams on display
being recognised as the old firm of the SWPL, lo and behold an article
appeared under the above banner in The
Herald yesterday
written by Kevin Colrain. While the newspaper in question
should be congratulated for their cover, they might want to double check
the captions on their photos... just ask Yahoos defender Julie Smith! The
article appeared as follows -
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The ladies of Kilmarnock football club are developing a reputation akin to that of the Old Firm in the realm of the Women's Scottish Premier League.
Long-time close and local rivals, Ayr United were brushed aside in yesterday's derby as last season's treble-winners treated themselves to another five goals, after thumping Hamilton by the same score last week.
Unbeaten in five Premier League matches and yet to concede a goal, their dominance shows no signs of abating and their status as Scotland's top team is due to be tested tomorrow as Killie jet off to Austria to complete the round robin stage of the women's Champions League.
There they play the Portuguese and Russian champions along with Austrian hosts, Tirol, in the space of four days. Their performances in the elite tournament of Women's European football will hopefully be enough to augment the interest in the Scottish women's game, to more than a mere recreation sport.
Those who witnessed the prowess of Killie's style and play on a slightly wind-swept day at Hurlford Juniors ground would do well to spread the word of the calibre of the technical ability on show, which in spells, perhaps surprisingly to those with a propensity for misogyny, was more entertaining and better than some amateur levels.
The state of women's football on a global scale has begun to be well-documented, with the World Cup drawing decent TV figures and the celebrity status of the United States team prompting some dubious photo-shoots.
In a male-dominated sport, the profile of the women's game in Scotland is still immersed in grassroots stagnation. The professional status and government-funded riches enjoyed by the Scandinavian countries in particular puts the Scottish scene to shame.
Jim Chapman, the Kilmarnock manager, spoke afterwards about the need for recognition for the sport in Scotland and that without investment, the Shangri-La of professional status will ultimately become an intangible fallacy:
"If money comes into the leagues [WSPL and SWFL]
then it can filter down and through time it can only develop from
grass-roots. The structure is now in place but we need investment, whether it's government or local business sponsorships, to help it grow."
With roughly 70% of the Killie team playing at various international levels, the benchmark in the women's game is being set at a very high standard and Chapman hopes that the future can bring wider interest if the standards are maintained and the example followed.
With former nemesis and Ayr player, Julie Fleeting, now plying her trade in the professional league in the States (WMLS) with San Diego Spirit, a successful women's international team is maybe the catalyst needed to generate a bigger draw.
©2002 The Herald
