by Charles Gladden
BELMOPAN, Mon. Apr. 15, 2024
The Football Federation of Belize (FFB) officially launched the inaugural season for its Premier Women’s League of Belize (PWLB) on Saturday, April 13, in Belmopan.
“It’s a very exciting day, not only for us at the Football Federation of Belize, but the entire country, because it marks the celebration and the launch of the professionalization [and] that movement for women’s football,” said Yashmin Juan, Communications Director for the FFB.
The league will feature six teams in its inaugural season – Jewel Fury FC, Sagitun Girlz, Valencia Rising Phoenix, Napoles FC, Old Capital Turf Warriors, and Caribbean Tires FC – who each played a match after the official ceremonies at the FFB’s Headquarters.
“This will not only help our players showcase their talent at a higher level, it also will help to raise our standard of football. It will also give us an established pool of players so we have a better selection for our national team. It will also help with our coaching, with coaches being involved. I see male coaches, but I’d love to see women coaches, and I’m hoping we are going [on] that path where we have licensed coaching,” said Kursha Pollard, Head of Women’s Football at FFB.
To wrap up the opening ceremony, each team received their club license, which is a key element in promoting the professionalization of football all over the world and uses principle-based criteria and sets minimum standards that clubs must satisfy to be licensed and, consequently, be able to participate in a given competition.
The inaugural season is set to run for 10 weeks with two legs, ending its regular season on June 16, and the season including playoffs and finals in mid-July. Each of the teams played their first match of the season. Sagitun Girlz FC took the victory over Rising Phoenix, 11–nil; Caribbean Tire FC won over Old Capital Turf Warriors, 7–nil; and Jewel Fury FC topped Napoles FC, 3–1.
The league hopes to be an independent body after two years.
Upcoming games
Saturday, April 20
4:00 p.m. – Old Capital Turf Warriors vs Jewel Fury FC – Marion Jones Sports Complex
Sunday, April 21
4:00 p.m. – Caribbean Tire FC vs Rising Phoenix FC – Caribbean Tire Football Field
4:00 p.m. – Napoles FC vs Sagitun Girlz FC – Isidoro Beaton Stadium