Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
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Over the past five years, this CONCACAF administration has prioritized making the Confederation truly “football first”. We have made this wonderful game the center of everything we do. From elite senior competitions, to youth programs, to development activities that support the growth of the sport in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, football is the beating heart of CONCACAF.
Today is a hugely important milestone for women’s football in our region. As we look forward to the very first CONCACAF W Qualifiers taking place this afternoon, we can’t help but feel inspired. These matches are the first part of an exciting new women’s national team competition structure that will showcase the very best of CONCACAF women’s football to the world.
Over the next six days, a total of 30 women’s national teams – some of them vastly experienced, but others in the early stages of their women’s football programs – will take to the field and represent their countries, playing with pride for the right to qualify to this summer’s CONCACAF W Championship, which in- turn qualifies the best teams in our region to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
For CONCACAF, today is about seeing a strategic vision become a reality. During the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, we launched our “CONCACAF W” women’s football strategy, which prioritized providing more competitive opportunities for our Members and their national teams with a collective goal of harnessing the power of this great game to inspire women and girls across our region.
In addition to the W Qualifiers being played in the coming days and in the April FIFA match window, this year will bring so much more for players, coaches and fans of the women’s game in CONCACAF.
In 2022, we will also deliver the CONCACAF U17 and U20 Women’s Championships in the Dominican Republic, the CONCACAF W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico and we look forward to a World Cup being played in our region with the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup 2022 Costa Rica taking place in August.
Collectively, these competitions will see a total of 188 official women’s international matches being played in our confederation, making this a truly special year for the women’s game in CONCACAF.
While we know there remains much more work to do to continue growing women’s football in our region, the progress delivered in the past few years, coupled with the steadfast support of CONCACAF’s Member Associations, has laid a strong foundation that we believe will allow us to take CONCACAF W to new heights.
To the federations and their coaches and players competing in the CONCACAF W Qualifiers over the next six days, and of course to the fans, thank you for your commitment to women’s football in our region and I wish you all the very best of luck.
One CONCACAF.
