Dave
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Post by Dave on Oct 9, 2010 10:52:43 GMT
The story below appeared in yesterdays Herald Express and I have a few questions I would like to ask you.ASPIRING soccer star Emily Lewis-Clarke has hit out at the England Football Association for halting her participation in boys' football.The talented 10-year-old is a regular in the tournament-winning team at Newton 66 Football Club.
She is a valued member of the under-11s first team, standing out as a gifted defender, but an FA ruling states that as a girl she cannot play in the boys' league beyond the current season.
The FA recently spent two years investigating whether to extend the age limit for girls playing in boys' league It was approved by the FA Executive and FA Council, but stakeholders at an AGM voted against it.
Emily has been told to seek a girls' team for next season — but she is distraught, saying she will have to play fewer games at a lower standard of football.
She said: "I don't think it is fair to stop girls playing football with their team. I have been playing with my team for so many years. "I think I should be able to carry on playing mixed football, and the FA shouldn't stop me from playing football just because I am a girl. "I think it should be up to the manager. If he lets his team have a girl in, it's because he's the one training us."
Emily has now started a Facebook campaign in an attempt to get the FA to reverse its ruling, and she is gathering signatures for a petition. Her mother, Michelle, said: "I, as a mother, have pursued numerous lines of inquiry in order for her to continue playing, but I have hit a brick wall.
"Emily is friends with all the players, but she's been told she can't play with them after this season. It's wrong. "The dinosaurs' decision-making at the FA is Draconian. She's being punished for being a girl. "I hope people will support us in helping Emily continue to play, and highlight the equal opportunities that this country is forever preaching.
"With many other countries encouraging mixed football, the FA's decision sends an unfortunate message of an organisation that has yet to come to terms with equality of opportunity in the 21st century."
The FA said its Executive will try to establish the reasons why some stakeholders voted against the proposal to extend the age limit that girls' can play in a boys' league.Here is a link to the story and to date seven comments have been added at the bottom of the page. www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Emily-kicks-boys-league-ban/article-2734956-detail/article.htmlWhile I do not know the real reason the age has been set to under 11 years old my guess would be from that age onward girls start becoming young ladies and if that is so should that really be an issue? Should the age be extended to 16 years old for mixed sex football? Should woman be allowed to play in any mans team at any age? Some of the very top lady footballers are better than some men players in lower league football so why not?
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chelstongull
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Post by chelstongull on Oct 9, 2010 10:58:35 GMT
While I do not know the real reason the age has been set to under 11 years old my guess would be from that age onward girls start becoming young ladies and if that is so should that really be an issue? Should the age be extended to 16 years old for mixed sex football? I don't think as they mature it should be mixed football. I'm sure guys who are strong in the tackle would not give it 100% if they were coming in from behind. I would also think as they get older it would be more of a distraction for both sexes. |
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merse
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Post by merse on Oct 9, 2010 11:19:29 GMT
 I agree with Chelstongull and I think it is a "no brainer" to be honest. The reason for the 11 year old cut off is that eleven is the age in which boys can elevate from mini football to eleven a side, and to be honest Anthony and his mates always used to cringe when some opposition have included girls in their line ups when they were younger and they were told not to hold back on the girls but treat them as boys and "hit 'em as hard" as they would a boy. That has always made "certain decisions" for opposition coaches and I haven't seen a girl venture onto an "A Class" pitch for over a year now. Jesus Christ we have enough to put up with when the little darlings from Highgate and Hampstead come and play at rough, tough Market Road and start sobbing when they get hurt, without girls being included.  Girls' football is the right and proper place for girls to play in, and the female game is perfectly adequately coached and organised for them. Girls are no less technically able than boys, but when it comes to 11 they increasingly struggle on a physical basis.
Rob Chandler can illustrate on the finer points of girls Academy Football ~ his daughter plays for Fulham and (I may be wrong) I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate her having to play against boys in that level of football. I hope I don't come over as disrespecting the femal game or females, and I have a great deal of time for their game and have watched some very accomplished girls football as recently as this week. Not long ago I watched as Islington Girls took on the Cruyff Academy Girls from Amstrdam in a tournament just up the road from me and believe me, there were 12 year olds there who had as good technical ability to boys of that age in parallel ability levels.....................but physically? No!
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Post by aussie on Oct 9, 2010 11:31:21 GMT
When I read the heading to this thread my immediate reaction was "yes please, when can I play?"
The impossibilities of this are endless, what do you do for changing rooms? The policy at most swimming pools changing areas are kids under 8 can go in any changing room with parent but after that they are deemed as too old to be in opposite sex changing rooms!
Injuries:- do you have two physios, one male and one female?
Management:- you have to get all your players together in the same room for the pre-match chat and in order to do that you have to get the girls and the boys to all change in different changing rooms first, not to mention after the game with showers and rub downs or ice baths.
I could go on and on, the logistics in this p.c. mad world would just make it all too impossible to make happen in a reasonable time frame if at all!
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Post by stefano on Oct 9, 2010 14:11:31 GMT
When I read the heading to this thread my immediate reaction was "yes please, when can I play?" The impossibilities of this are endless, what do you do for changing rooms? The policy at most swimming pools changing areas are kids under 8 can go in any changing room with parent but after that they are deemed as too old to be in opposite sex changing rooms! Injuries:- do you have two physios, one male and one female? Management:- you have to get all your players together in the same room for the pre-match chat and in order to do that you have to get the girls and the boys to all change in different changing rooms first, not to mention after the game with showers and rub downs or ice baths. I could go on and on, the logistics in this p.c. mad world would just make it all too impossible to make happen in a reasonable time frame if at all! I'd be completely happy to share a changing room and a bath with the girls and to have a female physio! |
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