The Federation Tahitienne de Football continues to invest heavily in the development of the women’s game with its latest initiative « Mesdames franchissez la barrière » or “Ladies, cross the barrier” proving a hit.
Led by FTF technical director Patrice Flaccadori and women’s football development officer Stephanie Spielmann, the second edition of the workshop welcomed 23 particpants, including players, coaches, administrators, volunteers and even parents.
Among those in attendance was Moea Nouveau, the mother of an eight-year-old footballer with AS Aorai.
“He was initially introduced to football by someone in my family who is involved, then I got involved and I’ve been regularly following his journey,” Nouveau said.
The young mother said the course was introduced to her through an association she’s involved in called ‘No Papeete’.
“The President told me about it and recommended I take part so I could better understand football and use that to guide my son in his journey as a footballer,” she explained.
“It’s allowed me to better understand the organisation, the way a club functions and how we, those people who are not registered players, can become involved in the club and provide our support.”
Nouveau said the fact it was a female-focused workshop certainly helped inform her decision to attend.
“What I really liked, is that it tried to promote girls in football because it’s true, there aren’t many girls in this discipline.
“When there are, either they’re embarrassed or neglected or there’s not many of them and so they have to play with the boys.”
As a former elite athlete herself, Nouveau is a former French Polynesia Champion in golf, she knows that there a female-only environment doesn’t suit everyone. But is supportive of it being an option.
“Obviously there are advantages to playing mixed football, it allows girls to push themselves and they’ll try to better the boys which helps improve their level.”
Following the workshop Nouveau is looking forward to putting the new skills and knowledge she’s learned into action.