It’s vital we use our platform to give Scottish youngsters a standard to aspire to
BEATTIE IS THRILLED TO SEE MORE FANFARE IN STRONG WOMEN’S GAME
IN American sports it is not unusual for high-profile athletes to charge by the dollar for their selfies and autographs with kids. For Jen Beattie and a generation of female footballers, the price of a high profile is one they have readily accepted — and tangible proof of the massive strides that have been taken by the women’s game in Scotland.
And in a week which celebrates the role of women and girls in sport, it would be remiss to overlook the influence of the Scotland and Arsenal defender.
The 30-year-old acknowledged recently that she spent a summer ‘googling jobs’ after breast cancer and then debilitating back surgery left her fearing for her career. Back in the national team under new head coach Pedro Martinez Losa, Beattie’s sights are only on spearheading a campaign that could see Scotland qualify for back-to-back World Cup finals.
Such an achievement would offer a two-fold reward; being among the best teams in the world at a showcase event but also ensuring that there remains a high profile attached to the women’s game and the media coverage which comes with it.
With 134 caps for her country, Beattie is more than qualified to comment on the manner in which visibility has improved enormously for women’s football over the last decade. Sustaining it is key to the continued growth of the game.
‘For us as players, we now get young kids coming up to us to ask for photographs and that has been something that is relatively new to us,’ she said. ‘Until recently, we didn’t have that because the game wasn’t professional, so it has been lovely to have that experience and so important, too, for young girls playing to see that there is a pathway. ‘Even yesterday morning we had a meeting about what kind of legacy we want to create for this team and what we want to stand for, what culture we want to have within this side. ‘We want to set a standard for anyone coming into the squad but from an outside point of view we want to be females playing professional sport that young girls can aspire to. ‘That they can watch on TV and think, yeah, I want to go and join a team and play football. Media plays into that hugely because you need to be able to see it to know that it is a plausible ambition.
‘The SFA do a lot with grassroots and you need to keep that going but it has to be accessible as possible for everyone and, crucially, it has to be visible.
‘The changes have been massive over the last decade. Even now as a team we train at the Oriam and we see Hearts women coming through at a tremendous facility. It wouldn’t have been possible for us not too long ago to have that kind of place to train.
‘We have girls playing in school and at different levels now at club stage. There is also scope for earlier development at club level. But it needs to keep going.’
Scotland will not further their World Cup ambitions this evening in Paisley as they take on Olympic silver medalists Sweden in a friendly. It will, though, give an indication into the standard expected when they face group favourites Spain in the next international double-header next month.
Martinez Losa (left) has been appreciative of the start made to the World Cup campaign with maximum points taken from the opening three games and, while there remains a feeling that there is still work to be done for Scotland, he is keen that they are not intimidated by the reputation the Swedes will take into tonight’s game.
‘One hundred per cent this will give us answers about the areas where we can be good and the things that we don’t do well,’ said the Spaniard. ‘You can still win the game (even when a team is so far ahead of you). My objective is to make sure we are prepared — by being prepared we have a plan to win. The game plan for the last three games, the games have gone like that — the weakness of the other team and the ways to score have been correct. ‘It is even more important to be united against a team like this because you can only do well with the collective. ‘Not every match will go our way all the time and when they don’t we need to have the capability to switch it around, which we managed to do on Friday night.’