Kiwi gets green light for Germany switch
A member of New Zealand’s history-making Under-17 Women’s World Cup squad has completed her switch to Germany but her debut has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Maya Hahn was supposed to be travelling to Spain this month to make her first appearance for Germany’s under-20 women’s national team after Fifa ratified her switch in allegiance last week.
But the tournament was cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the University of Oregon midfielder has since returned home to Wellington where she is continuing her studies online and completing an individual training programme in lockdown.
‘‘I wasn’t [expecting to be back] but it’s definitely nice,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘It would be nice if I could train with Ole though because I always like doing that, but it’s been all right. I’ve been sent so much stuff from Oregon, Germany and Ole so I’m keeping busy and I’ve got my school work as well, so it’s not too bad.
‘‘The school year ends in June and then it starts again in October so I might not be back until then but we have pre-season that starts in August so right now the plan is to be back for that and plan for a regular full season. We don’t really know but that’s what the coaches are planning for.’’
The 19-year-old is eligible to represent Germany through her father and requested a one-time switch after becoming disillusioned with the women’s game in New Zealand, despite helping the Young Football Ferns achieve a third-place finish at the Under-17 World Cup in 2018.
Hahn had attended a series of training camps in Germany this year and was due to be involved in the country’s under-20 Women’s World Cup campaign, with the first warm-up tournament scheduled to take place in Spain this month.
But with that tournament now cancelled and the World Cup set to be postponed following a recommendation from the Fifa-Confederations Working Group, Hahn must now wait for her debut despite getting the green light from Fifa.
‘‘It comes into effect once I play a game for Germany but it’s kind of annoying now because there’s no games,’’ she said. ‘‘It would have been around now with this tournament in Spain and then the next one was a tournament in Sweden, but they’ve just cancelled that. I don’t really know now.
‘‘When it got approved it was really exciting and I was just imagining playing my first game, but at least it’s nice to know now and I don’t have the pressure of being in camp and wondering if I’m allowed to play for the team or not. I’m 100 per cent in so it’s a good feeling.’’
The Under-20 Women’s World Cup was originally scheduled to take place in Costa Rica and Panama in August and September. Both New Zealand and Germany have qualified.