Hollie can be the Geey force for GB
FOOTBALL HOLLIE Geey and her Team GB golden girls celebrated title glory at the European Maccabi Games in Budapest just a few months ago.
Now they are already eagerly planning for more success at the Maccabiah Games in Israel next year and are hoping to inspire some fresh talent to join the squad that will be eventually selected for the tournament.
To that end, Hollie, assistant playermanager under team boss Arthur Duke, and many of her Budapest team-mates will be relating the story behind their EMG experiences to potential new players at a meeting at MLFC’s home ground at Rowley Lane, Barnet, on February 9.
“One on my biggest aims in life is to inspire young women to play not only football, but engage in all sorts of sports,” said Geey who captained the GB squad in Israel at the Maccabiah in 2017.
“Finding young, talented Jewish female footballers is difficult because unlike the men’s side of the game, there are few teams or leagues for us to play in. But we are hoping to spread the word that playing football is an enjoyable and healthy experience.”
She went on to say: “Playing at the these international Maccabi competitions has also given us the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic Jewish experience and also build amazing friendships with people from all parts of the world.”
The senior GB squad is for players of 18 years-plus, but Geey hopes the audience at Rowley Lane will include younger girls who will be inspired by learning of the opportunities open to them.
She knows the challenge in Israel will be even more difficult than in Budapest, with teams from across the world competing, particularly the very talented USA team.
But Geey is up and ready for the task. She said: “Hopefully a large percentage of our Budapest squad will still be with us in Israel in 2021. But if we can encourage some strong, new talented players to the squad, then we will be ready to take on whoever they throw at us.
“As far as I am concerned, we are a winning team both on and off the pitch.”