Women’s football fever is sweeping the Oceania region as New Zealand Football prepares for the launch of their ‘Live Your Goals Week’ next month.
New Zealand will be joining 72 other FIFA Member Associations already implementing ‘Live Your Goals’ campaigns in an effort to increase participation and spark excitement for women’s football, create the best opportunities for women’s football to thrive and ensure that football continues to be the number one female team sport around the world.
The launch of the campaign will be marked with a festival prior to the Women’s Knockout Cup final at QBE Stadium in Auckland on 11 September, where young girls are invited to participate in a 5-a-side tournament and meet players from the New Zealand women’s and youth teams.
OFC Women’s Football Development Officer Nicola Demaine is pleased to see the campaign gaining momentum across the Oceania region and believes it will have a positive impact on the future of the women’s game.
“Live Your Goals has been a great tool for bringing visibility to women’s football in Oceania,” she said.
“It allows Member Associations to promote football amongst existing players and provide an opportunity for new players to try the sport,” she added.
“Tahiti kicked-off their campaign last year and since then we’ve had Tonga and Papua New Guinea launch their Live Your Goals campaigns as well.
“Over 900 girls were given the opportunity to try football through the campaign in 2016 in those countries alone.”
The ‘Live Your Goals’ campaign was first launched at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany in 2011 and has since become one of FIFA’s most recognised initiatives in women’s football.