The rising stars

I am sure that there are ways to gauge how many people read this particular column within the GulfWeekly readership, I just don’t know what they are or how to access them. Anyone who has taken the time to read even a word of this, I thank you greatly and regardless of whether you have or not, I wish you all the most prosperous of New Years. Whilst it is not perfect, it was a relatively prosperous year for Women’s sport last year and it was delightful to see one last success story before 2019 came to a close.

Fallon Sherrock is only a name you will be familiar with if you follow the World Championship of Darts that has been happening over the past couple of weeks. Not only did Fallon reach the third round, the first woman to ever do so, she beat 11th seed Mensur Seljovic in the second round to get there.

The crowd was described as raucously partisan in favour of Sherrock, so much so that her third round opponent Chris Dobey wore ear plugs for their game. It was a fitting tribute to the progress made in women’s sport during the year that the male dominated crowd dressed up in blonde wigs and pink shirts and were seen hugging each other when Fallon produced winning darts.

In a year that saw Byrony Frost jockey the first top-level, grade one winner at Cheltenham, record viewing figures for the Women’s World Cup and Jamie Chadwick taking the inaugural W series championship before signing for absolute racing it has to be asked if everything is being done to stimulate the growth of women’s sport in the same way in this region of the world.

Over the winter break I have been able to spend much time with my father and I am very much like him in many ways. He said to me that he was asked if he was someone that is always right, he replied, “No, I am someone who is never wrong.” His reasoning is simple, he does not speak on subjects that he knows nothing about, this means that he does not know every answer but the answers he gives, he knows for sure. I feel it is this sentiment that brings me back to footballing examples.

I do not want to say that any sport is not doing enough to promote the women’s side of their profession because I simply do not know the ins and outs. For sure I can guess, but that is just the ramblings of a random bloke. Having had the pleasure of being able to coach a team in the Bahrain Women’s premier division, the Ravens, I can relate this issue back to them.

The truth is that Bahrain has a wonderful chance to be a part of the Women’s World Cup, especially when you consider that the number of participating teams is going to increase from 24 to 32.  They have great facilities and great players and the overall mindset of the country and how it is governed is in a fantastic place. So what are they missing?

Equality of opportunity has been a big factor in the development of a number of huge footballing countries. I feel sure this is a problem for most in the region and most certainly in Bahrain. The boys have a player development programme, not just through national teams but also through the club teams and academies which allows them to get a high quality footballing education.

Other than the youth national teams and the programme I helped to create at the Juventus Academy there is no club or academy I know of that is committed to that development and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that is the same for other sports. Since its creation, there has been a stagnation in the Bahrain women’s national team, all of the ingredients are there for a hugely successful team, much in the same way that the men’s team have been successful with their recent Gulf Cup Victory.

It is not just a monetary investment that will get you where you want to be, it is an investment in the right expertise and opportunity that will come to the fore. I believe that the region can be as successful and prosperous as any other, so long as there is a sufficient effort to work towards that goal as well as the commitment of governing bodies.

I would love 2020 to be even more successful for women’s sport than 2019. Even more Fallon Sherrocks, Byrony Frosts and Jamie Chadwicks but for them to come from GCC countries and to make us even prouder! Here’s to a great New Year!