Girls Football in Perth

Neiv Smith joined #TeamSmallCity for "Take Your Child To Work Day 2019".  She attends Kinnoull Primary School and in her spare time is a keen sports person.  She plays for Scone Thistle Girls under 13, as well as being part of the Ace Gymnastics Senior Squad and the Kinnoull Primary Cross Country Team.

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I have been playing football with Scone Thistle Girls for about a year and a half now.  I’ve recently moved to the Under 13 Team where my position is defender, which means I am one of the team players responsible for defending the goal.  I chose this position because it sees a lot of action –in my opinion it’s the most exciting position in the game! There are a few of us who play in defence, so we get subbed on and off so that everyone gets a game.

I played a lot of football at school during break time before I joined the team, and I always thought it was really fun. My friend Katherine played for Scone Thistle, and I thought it would be cool to try it out.  I started in the under 11s which was more about friendly games; I loved being part of a proper team straight away.  Now I’m in the under 13s, it is more about leagues and cup games. 

I find it inspiring to watch women’s football but I know that before I was born, there were not as many girls and women into football as there are now. Hopefully, with Scotland’s women’s team qualifing for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time in 2019, we’ll see even more girls getting into this exciting sport.

I find it inspiring to watch women’s football. Hopefully, with Scotland’s women’s team qualifing for the FIFA Women's World Cup we’ll see even more girls getting into this exciting sport.I support Manchester United, and their woman’s team has also reformed and won their league in the first season.  Very cool!  I think that should also help more girls get into football.

For my article, I have interviewed Dana Ferrar, my coach at Scone Thistle, to find out what she thinks about women’s football and how she got involved herself.

NS: What team did you play for growing up?

DF: I began playing for Brechin City Youths then moved to Forfar Farmington.

NS: What inspired you to play football?

DF: I grew up watching my dad play football.  From there, I grew to love the game and wanted to get involved myself.

NS: When you were growing up what was women’s football like, and what have been the biggest changes since then in playing and coaching?

DF: There weren’t as many teams as there are now. The game has definitely grown over the last 10-12 years, with lots more girls wanting to play. There has also been an increase in the media coverage on the women’s game, especially with the Scottish women doing so well.   That all helps to boost the profile of the game.

NS: Why did you want to be a girl’s football coach and how long have you been coaching?

DF: After moving to Scone I wanted to get back involved in the game and had contacted numbers of teams within the area. I then heard an opportunity to coach with Scone Thistle Girls and thought I’d give it a go. I have been coaching now for roughly two years.

NS: When you started playing were a lot of girls playing at the time?

DF: There wasn’t as many girls interested in football when I started playing, compared to the number I have seen now as a coach. 

Find out more about Scone Thistle Girls Football Club on their Facebook page >>>

Five Top Facts You Might Know About Women's Football

1. There was a huge growth in women’s football during the war when women were called upon to do factory jobs, left by the men who had gone to fight in the war.

2. Women’s football matches once pulled bigger crowds than most men’s games- sometimes more than 50,000. On Christmas day in 1917, 10,000 spectators watched women’s teams play at Preston! WOW!

Women’s games were banned by the FA in the twenties, who said at the time the game of football was “Quite  unsuitable for females.”

3. In the 1920s the sport flourished - however, the women’s games were soon banned with the FA at the time saying the game of football “Quite  unsuitable for females.” 

4. It was another half century before women’s football got back on its feet and this is probably the only reason it lags behind men’s football.

5. Abby Wambach, who retired at 35, has the most international goals scored - a huge 184 - out of any female or male player in the history of the association of football players.