Woman joins men in first for region
TESSA Nicol is taking on a historic challenge this season.
The Southern United women’s goal keeper has received dispensation to play in a Football South men’s competition.
She made her debut for the RoslynWakari third team last Saturday, taking a 41 win first up.
It is believed to be the first time a female has permanently played in a men’s team within the region.
Previously, Nicol — and a handful of others, including Una Madden and Cushla Glover — had played the occasional game on a fillin basis.
It was the 22yearold’s first winter match in Dunedin since 2015, having spent time in Auckland in the Football Ferns setup.
She returned last year to take up her women’s football development officer role and, after sitting out last winter with an ankle injury, wanted to throw herself into something completely new.
‘‘Basically, I just wanted a new challenge coming back from Auckland,’’ she said.
‘‘I wanted to throw myself into a really uncomfortable position to see how I would handle it.
‘‘I’ve been really thankful and really lucky that the Roslyn club have been so supportive of that.
‘‘They’ve just treated me like any other player, which has been fantastic.
‘‘So it’s been a great transition and so far I’m really enjoying the environment and the new challenge.’’
The process required her to get a letter from Football New Zealand backing her, alongside the approval of Football South.
It was something New Zealand women’s football historian Jeremy Ruane said the national body had facilitated more in recent years for the benefit of female goal keepers.
That had led to four women around the country playing men’s football since 2012.
It had not happened at firstteam level, primarily to avoid having a woman playing in the Chatham Cup.
She was enjoying it and the team had been welcoming.
It was not tough being the only woman. However, it could be tough with the speed and physicality being a step up.
Despite that, she hoped it would help her develop as a player.
While she got plenty out of the women’s game, she felt it important to challenge herself in new ways.
‘‘I guess the ball’s hit a lot harder, which is obviously a challenge in itself.
‘‘As well as that, men demand a lot more from you.
‘‘So I guess I’ve gone from more of a leadership role in the women’s space to more of a learning position in the men’s game.
‘‘It’s a lot quicker than the women’s game.’’
While in the third team, she was aiming to perform well and see if she could push her way into the second team.