UEFA’s Martyn Hindley provides us with quotes from the announcement of UEFA Women’s football development ambassadors in Paris on 2 February 2015.
Lotta Schelin
Lotta, how does it feel to have formalised your ambassador status with UEFA today?
It feels really good, actually. It is nice, because it’s a really really good project, and I am really proud to be a part of it. And it feels like a good thing for… and I think that we deserve [it], you know, for women’s soccer, for all the young girls out there in Europe, who love to play soccer and maybe they don’t even get the chance to do it.
And I think that what we can do and what we can try to do is go out there and… make them see us, and know that there’s a possibility to play soccer and there’s a possibility for girls to even be professionals, you know.
It’s really nice to be able to do that. And I think it helps for them to get some role models or at least someone who managed to still play, even if we’re older now. [laughs]
What are your aims as a UEFA ambassador?
My aims…. You know, first off, I think for every one of us, it’s… when you are in it, and when you play, it is hard to look at yourself as a role model, and I am really happy that they are saying to me that I am, so I am trying to just take that in and afterwards go out there and, like I said before, just show them that we’ve been playing soccer since we were small, and we got able to do that.
And [there is] nothing weird about it and it should be a certain thing for everyone and everybody and…
Just like… it doesn’t have to be something special, really; it is just to go out there and talk to them and get a relationship, a relation at least with them. And I think that can be a really good thing. And when you are out there, maybe you are even going to see some people who can [make a] change in that country. So try to change a little bit of the mentality, and even… The girls, I think it’s easy to show them what we want them to see; but we have to do that on every person who decides also, and get them to go further on with their way of looking at soccer, and that it’s not only for guys.
Laura Georges
I feel truly honoured to be an official ambassador of The Women’s Football Development Programme for UEFA. I actually had my first similar experience in Latvia. It was fantastic to meet many young players during a summer tournament. Given that we have Lotta, Camille and Verónica as well as Steffi, the very first ambassador, I feel honoured to be alongside such great players. If I can help develop women’s football with my love of life, desire and experience, it would be simply beautiful.
You were in Lisbon last year and also at a development tournament in Latvia. Can you tell us about those experiences and what you took from them?
I was invited to Lisbon to watch the women’s Champions League final which was an opportunity for me to see the other side of the competition. I’d already played in four finals, winning two of them, but this experience let me see all the organising involved and all the people working on the project. I saw just how much work it entailed. It’s true that it’s better to participate out on the pitch! I was able to meet people who are truly devoted to our discipline. The trip that I went on to Latvia gave me the chance to meet young girls who don’t have the same opportunities as us. They don’t have state-of-the-art facilities, they don’t have coaches, they don’t have the support of their country. We tried to give them some hope by telling them that they have a right to play football which isn’t just for men and that it’s simply a sport. We encouraged them by saying that they could become professionals one day too. The aim isn’t necessarily to become a professional, but simply to want to play football and enjoy it, above all.
What are your aims as a UEFA ambassador?
My aims as a UEFA ambassador involve giving my all as a person by travelling to the countries that are most in need of help in terms of the promotion of women’s football. I’ll call on my experience, both my successes and failures, in the world of football and look to share my passion with people there. We’ll also look to meet different federations and help the whole process by encouraging the use of best practice. The French federation works very well in terms of communication in women’s football.
Those are things that can be discussed with other federations and we can show the relevant presidents that players are willing to invest themselves in the project, and that even if we aren’t part of their federation, we can still help them out if they need us. We must all believe in women’s football.
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