Nation ladies dream big after promising debut

Nation FC ladies team is optimistic of better fortunes in their future assignments after a decent outing in the Left Foot Sports “World Cup” tournament at the weekend.

In a pool of 58 six-a-side football teams that registered for the competition now on its 14th edition, there were three Nation Media Group teams namely Nation A and B men’s team and the ladies team.

Despite putting up a spirited fight, the trio were eliminated in the round of 16.

But, for Nation ladies who were taking part in the event for the first time, the competition offered valuable lessons as they look to match the success of their men counterparts.

Captain Celestine Olilo said the lack of competitive experience dented their quest for top prize considering that her team – the first women’s team in 60 years – was quickly assembled for the competition.

The ladies in blue bowed out of the tournament at the knock-out stage having lost 5-0 to eventual champions Astral ladies, 8-0 to South C Academy and 6-0 to Sportpesa.

“We are not discouraged by our performance in the competition considering this was our first appearance. We are going back to the drawing board for better results in our next assignment,” said Olilo.

“The experience was very good. We were playing against top teams that have been part of the competition for the last 14 years. We learnt a lot from them and our aim is to take those learning points into our training sessions to help us improve," she said.

Olilo also thanked the company's top brass for supporting the formation of the ladies' team.

“This is a team that was recently put together for the event and we resolved to give 100 per cent. There has been massive support and we wanted to do well and give our fans the best.”

Team manager and NMG Sports Managing Editor Elias Makori encouraged the team to work extra hard in future to compete at high level.

“It is not going to be easy but you have to fight to the last minute and be able to change your tactical approach depending on the agility of your opponents. This means remaining committed in training and also playing a lot of competitive matches,” he said.

The launch of the team coincided with NMG’s 60th anniversary celebration of unrivalled journalism.

During the event, Chicago FC ‘A’ (England) and defending champions Astral ladies (Brazil) strolled to stardom after edging out Tropical Heat (Russia) 1-0 and Sportpesa (Argentina) 2-0 to win the men’s and women's titles respectively.

A total of 58 teams took part in the event that also attracted five ladies’ teams.

“Since we launched this event in 2005 we have witnessed tremendous growth that has created a platform to showcase untapped talent. We intended to make the event even bigger next year,” said Amit Bhasin, the events Operation Director.

The organization also runs children amateur leagues and 75-team corporate leagues in Nairobi and Mombasa.