National women’s football team squad member Aliza Akshara Hussein has urged parents to encourage and support their daughters to play the sport.
“Parents should not stop their daughters from playing football,” said Hussein.
The 21-year-old defender said girls could achieve their dreams in life if given opportunities and much-needed support by their loved ones.
“To girls who want to play football, don’t go on your gender. If you are a girl then it does not mean that you can’t do anything. Don’t make decisions based on your gender. You can do more compared to boys. There are some families that do not support girls playing football because they see clothes are small and school gets affected. Instead of stopping them, help them. You need to encourage them and they will do better in school and sports if you are with them.”
The former Kamil Muslim College student said she faced a lot of challenges in making her move into football.
“I have made a lot of sacrifices, for example, in Year 13, when I got selected for the trials and camp. Year 13 is the last level and decision-making for the future. In Term Two, I had to choose a different school and had the fear that my schoolwork would be affected because of my training. But my parents supported and encouraged me which helped me to defy the challenges. I was the only Fijian with Indian descent girl in the team and I did not know their language. So I started to learn and adapt to their environment.”
The USP student said her football inspiration came from her siblings.
“My interest came when I was six years old watching my brothers playing football at home and watching football games on television with my father. Football has taught me a lot of things in life such as teamwork. It has given me an identity and has taught me discipline, and how people from different places come together and live as a family.
“I was not a high level student, I was a standard level student who lived on 50-50. So I went through football, I challenged myself that I play football so my parents are also there who want to see me with flying colours. The biggest thing football has taught me is how to speak iTaukei language. I started with the basics from my teammates.”
She received her football break in 2013 at the age of 14 where she caught the attention Ba women’s team officials.
“I received my football break through my teacher Fazilat Khan in 2013. I played for my high school and in 2014 I received a chance to play for the Ba women’s district team. I played my first Inter-District Championship and Champion Versus Champion series with Ba in 2014. I got selected into the national under-16 trials but because of injury, I was not part of the main squad. I did not lose hope and the recovery motivated me to give in my best.
“Later, I got selected in the under-16 and went to play in the Cook Islands before the U19 selection when I was asked to join the team to go to New Zealand. My name got in the national women’s trial list and from there I did my best and set my foot in the national team.”
The Yalalevu, Ba, native has eyes on the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Qatar next year.
“At district level, my aim was getting into the national team and now my aim is to get selected for the best 11 rather than being in the reserves. My dream is to play for Fiji in the world cup qualifiers in Qatar. It will be tough but I keep pushing myself.”
The Digicel Women’s football side was in camp for two weeks preparing for the 2021 OFC Nations Cup and took break last Friday and will march again in camp on November 18.
