“Nothing but vibes”; that was the consensus about the successful and illuminous Ladies Football Tournament that took place at William Herbert over the weekend, giving female footballers the chance to test themselves against teams and players of a progressive level.
(Images: Winston Zeederberg)
“I had this vision that girls could have their own tournaments – something similar to the Bayhill Premier Cup for males,” says Winston Zeederberg, one of the main organisers of the tournament. “I wanted to create something that the ladies can call their own.”
The second instalment of the Cup of Dreams, as it is called, saw teams from across the board competing, led and hosted by Winston Zeederberg and Spurs WFC respectively.
The idea was to create a tournament that has an FA Cup-like feeling, with a lot of David vs Goliath clashes, and to provide a platform for clubs to start preparing for the new season in a high class and high intensity environment.
“Teams are struggling to get pre-season games, and there are girls sitting out there who want to compete in big tournaments. So playing against teams that are playing in higher leagues than themselves – similar to the FA Cup.”
This, in turn, pushes and motivates them to reach new – and ultimately develop their craft and love for the ever-growing women’s game.
(images: Bilqees Watson)
“I’m a strong believer that development needs to be part of each and every Ladies team. The development of players is a place where you can measure yourself when you play teams that are in a higher league than yourself; where you can judge yourself in terms of how far you still need to walk to get to their level.
Zeederberg believes that development teams are imperative for the improvement of ladies football, and that each team needs to have a development programme installed – and that tournaments like this can inspire that.
“For example, if you are playing in the Sasol League, you have an opportunity to mark yourself against a team like UWC that is plying their trade in the HollywoodBets Super League. You can see where your shortcomings are, and what you need to work on. I hope the tournament will grow to a point where we have young girls competing in their own age group because we need more girls and women in football.”
(Image: UWC)
The highlight of the Cup of Dreams 2022 must be the response from the players, coaches and chairman’s – all of whom had only positive things to say about this great initiative.
“They love the vibe,” Zeedeberg notes. “It was amazing for me to hear the positive responses and how everyone enjoyed the game of football. This is what it’s all about, getting people excited and involved in the women’s game. It was simply amazing – and I’m happy and excited for the next edition.”
Winner : UWC Ladies
Runners Up : UDubs
Player of the Tournament : Amogelang Motau
