Competition kicks off

The Arsenal Soccer School Ladies Seven-a-Side League kicked off to a cracking start this week with five hungry teams aiming to hold aloft the coveted GulfWeekly trophy, writes Mai Al Khatib.

The 12-week-long tournament is being staged at the Batelco Sports Ground in Hamala every Monday evening and is being organised by former England international and senior coach at Arsenal Soccer School Bahrain, Deena Rahman.

She said: "All the players are excited about this great opportunity as they have been craving for some real competitive action. They have the chance to develop their skills and help build the game for all women out here."

The competition has attracted 60 Bahraini and expat players representing private schools, universities and sporting clubs. Each squad consists of a maximum of 11 players and will allow for rolling substitutes and no offside rules.

The teams are the multi-cultural Desert Divas, Arsenal Soccer School Bahrain's competitive Red and Yellow squads, Joga Bonito and St Christopher School's Intermediate.

Desert Divas coach Arno Deman, 53, from Jasra, has high hopes for his team. He said: "Most of the girls have been together since 2007 so they definitely have the experience. Plus we have been training once a week at the Bahrain Rugby Club.

"The Divas are going to be number one. I am not concerned about the other teams."

The Divas include a variety of players from the US, Netherlands, Scotland, Bahrain and the UK. Captain Shauna Nearing Loej, 44, a freelance writer, from Saar, added: "I think we are a great mixture of young and old with a lot of enthusiasm and determination. We are looking forward to playing.

"The other teams should be scared because we have a lot of characters that want to win."

The Arsenal Soccer School girls have been split up into two groups, the Red, which is made up of Arab girls, and the Yellow team which consists of expats.

Leading Arsenal Red is the competitive and fearless Rama Salem, 24, from Saar. She said: "Our team is really dynamic and energetic. We are ready to get out there on the pitch and show them what Arab girls are made of. Personally I am so obsessed with football that, aside from training every Wednesday at the school, I tend to play on several pitches with a variety of girls.

"This is why the league is a great idea. A lot of us want to play football regularly but we can never gather enough players. This will give us a chance to meet others like us. Also it's nice to see a competition for women as football is mostly focused on men.

"The only other team we have seen play are our counterparts the Yellow team, so we don't really know what we are up against which is what makes it exciting.

"The Red's definitely want to win but, in my opinion, what's really important is that everyone out there has fun. But, a warning to the others, we have been training quite hard so they better watch themselves!"

However, the Arsenal Yellow team has other ideas. Captain Jennifer Gilbert, 17, a student at St Christopher's, from Awali, said: "Unlike the Red team we are younger with added speed and stamina - definitely better than the grannies! This competition is surely going to be a thrilling one."

Captain of the St Christopher's team, Kate Addison, 14, from Saar, said: "We are the youngest team competing in the league so we are more in it to have fun. We have been playing football at school and just finished our season so we are ready for this."

Jago Bonito's captain Alaa Fawzi Al Darazi, 22, from Diraz, a student at the University College of Bahrain, said: "We have been playing together at a number of tournaments and in pitches across the kingdom. We may not look tough but we are a force to be reckoned with!"

There will be two games a week starting from 7pm. Three points are awarded for a win, and one for a draw. In the event of teams being level at the end of the season, the winner will be decided by a goal difference, goals scored and the results between the two teams. At the end of the league a presentation night will be staged at Med CafŽ in Budaiya where the winning squad will be handed the GulfWeekly Ladies Trophy. Other prizes will be awarded to the runners-up, player of the league and the team judged 'most sporting'.

On Monday Joga Bonito played against the Desert Divas and Arsenal Red took on St Christopher's Intermediate. Next Monday the Arsenal Yellow will play Joga Bonito and the Desert Divas face St Christopher's Intermediate.