IN an effort to provide a consistent platform for women to play the game of football and develop their football skills, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) announced that they will launch the GFF-Always National Women’s Development League today at the SleepIn Hotel, Brickdam.

Ansa McAl has been listed as a major sponsor and full details will be given by GFF president Wayne Forde, Padma Kunjbeharry, head of Ansa McAl’s Business Unit, and Valerie Garrido-Lowe – Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs – who is also Patron of Women’s Football in Guyana.

The GFF’s announcement comes on the backdrop of the game’s global governing body FIFA’s launch of its first-ever global strategy for women’s football, which charts the course for how FIFA will work with confederations and member associations (MAs), clubs and players, the media, fans and other stakeholders to realise the full potentials that exist within the women’s game.

FIFA strongly believes that women’s football brings one very important benefit to the many young girls and women involved in the game – empowerment. Encouraging empowerment through football, growing the game, getting more girls involved in it earlier and keeping women in football longer are all key elements of FIFA’s Women’s Football Strategy.

As part of its commitment to supporting and furthering the women’s game, FIFA established its first-ever Women’s Football Division in 2016 under Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman.

The Women’s Football Division will work closely with MAs around the world via workshops and special initiatives to assist them in bringing together key stakeholders to discuss, develop and implement their respective women’s football strategies and to ensure the greatest impact possible of their efforts to develop and grow the women’s game.

FIFA actively promotes women’s football worldwide through major competitions such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay as well as events, campaigns and development programmes.