Hope Powell Predicts Big Year for Women's Football

This is set to be the biggest year for women’s football in England according to the long standing manger of the female national side Hope Powell.

2011 sees the start of the new semi professional FA WSL (Women’s Soccer League) which begins in April and as well as London hosting the men’s Champion’s League final at Wembley – the women’s alternative will be held at Craven Cottage with two English sides, Arsenal and Everton, still in with a chance of making the showpiece final.

Powell admits she will be keeping an eye on all the proceedings as it is less than four months until the start of the World Cup in Germany and preparations are already well under way.

“Preparations are going very well, we had a camp in January after a three week Christmas break, and all the players were really keen and enthused,” said the 44-year-old. “Competition for places is quite tough so that makes it even better and the standard has been raised quite dramatically.

“We are heading out to Cyprus for a 12 team tournament, that will give us some experience of tournament play and assess how players react to the rest and recovery.

“We then come back and take on the USA which is a really good test for us that we can use as a benchmark to see where we are, and just before the world cup we take on Sweden.

“Then when we are out in Germany, the week before the World Cup, we will play two more friendlies just to prepare ourselves even more.”

England ladies have performed well in the last two major tournaments they have been involved in. Getting to the quarter-finals in the last World Cup before being knocked out by the USA. Then making it to the final of the 2009 European Championships in Finland where they eventually lost 5-2 to Germany.

However the Lewisham born manager is only going to be taking it one game at a time when the team look to win their first major trophy in Germany.

“We have to be realistic and we have to first of all get past the group that is in front of us and until we do that we can’t really talk beyond that,” Powell continued. “A world competition is very different to a European competition.

“All of the teams competing are very good and we aren’t that familiar playing against that opposition. It will be a challenge, but like everybody else the main ambition is to try and get out of the group.

“Then it becomes the luck of the draw. But I think we just need to set our stall out and work hard in the tournament.”

The FA are doing a lot to improve the standard of the women’s game and as well as the introduction of the new WSL, central contracts were brought into place to help the ladies balance work, life and their football.

“It was really important that we introduced those contracts,” said the England manager. “The most important thing is, it has allowed the players time to recover properly and put in a decent training session.

“The problem we had was players were waking up at ridiculous hours in the morning. Then a lot of the girls were training, doing a full day’s work and then training again. �

“The contracts mean that they work part time, they have rest periods in between and the training they do has more quality, so I think it has really helped.”

As well as managing the senior squad of players Powell also looks after the whole of the women’s set-up at the FA and says things are always improving.

“We have a really good structure in place, there are natural exit routes for players to fulfil their potential,” she continued. “Over the years we have generated a culture and conveyor belt of talent coming through.

“We have to applaud our grass routes programme, the centre of excellence and all the club coaches.”

The former Millwall ladies player was the first woman to achieve the Uefa pro licence and has been linked with the managers position at Grimsby in the past and Powell didn’t rule out managing in the men’s game.

“Women are getting more qualified, we see female officials and I’m as qualified as anybody in management,” Powell continues. “It’s like anybody, you look at your career and if an opportunity presents itself then you have the discussion but until then you will have to ask the decision makers.”

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Hope Powell was speaking at Wembley Stadium� ahead of the women's World Cup in Germany from 26th June - 17th July. For more information please visit www.germany.travel�