Women football players cry foul; DFA rubbishes claims

Etienne has dismissed allegations by a member of the Women Football League
Etienne has dismissed allegations by a member of the Women Football League

President of the Dominica Football Association (DFA) Glen Etienne is shooting down a number of allegations that women football is not getting the needed attention it deserves on the island.

A source told DNO that the Women’s League is facing a number of problems including a state of abandonment of the premiere playing field in Bath Estate, the lack of promotion and respect for Women’s football, the absence of security during games and sexual activities between coaches and players.

The source noted these issues are not being addressed adequately by the DFA.

However, Etiene told DNO that all the allegations are false.

“They are not factual,” he said.

According to the source, the Women’s League has been in existence for over 20 years now and while it is a good initiative by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to promote girls and women’s football, the team coaches and players have had many gripes with the DFA and the way that the league is being conducted.

One of the major problems is the condition of the Bath Estate Playing Field.

“The condition of the Bath Estate Field is absolutely horrendous,” the source, who is a member of the League but wants to remain anonymous, said.

She said players suffer many injuries during matches because of the uneven surface of the field which she said is also littered with rocks and small stones.

“The field is never treated, the grass is never replanted, there is no shelter, the benches are worn and broken, and there is also the matter of safety,” she stated.

To compound the matter, she said, the field is the place where dignitaries, local and foreign, are forced to come to in order to hold sessions and national players have to utilize for training.

Etienne, while admitting that the grounds are overworked, said this is all that is available in Dominica.

“This is the grounds that we have been using for the past time and it is overworked, for true, but we know we live in Dominica and we have a constrain of playing fields,” he said. “That’s what we have. We live in Dominica, we don’t live in some English country where all the grounds are okay and people have to understand that. We are trying our best and we will continue to try.”

He said “as soon as the league is completed” the DFA will take a look at the field, “to see if we can take out the stones and see if we can put some soil and grass. So that’s something we are definitely going to look at.”

He said the DFA is in the process of developing the playing fields in Bath Estate and Pointe Michel because the last trough system that affected Dominica in late 2013 washed some of the soil on them.

He noted that the DFA has written a proposal to FIFA requesting some assistance for these two grounds and “they did respond satisfactorily in the sense that they gave us some money to help out the lighting which was already started in Pointe Michel and Bath Estate.”

Another burning issue is the matter of security at the games and the safety of players.

The source told DNO that recently a game was aborted at Bath Estate because spectators began throwing bottles at the goal keeper of one of the teams.

“If something happens, how are we secure? There was one [Police] officer there, he couldn’t do anything we just had to abort the game. I think he was scared,” the source said.

However, Etienne said the DFA makes sure that there is security at all games.

“All our games have police security,” he said. “That is one thing that I am strongly for as President of the Dominica Football Association, is player’s welfare in the sense of medical attention and security of players.”

Another matter which was raised was the alleged sexual activity between the coaches and female football players.

The source described it as “an abuse of power.”

“Even if the person is over 17, yes is a consenting adult, but when you are in a position of trust, it’s an abuse of power,” she stated.

But Etienne said he has never heard of such activities.

“This is the first time I a hearing this,” he said. “It has never been brought to my attention…”

He noted that he will not stand for such activities “and that is one thing I will investigate right away but nobody has complained to me in that line.”

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6 Comments

  1. hmph
    March 24, 2015

    This is generally how sports in Dominica concerning women’s teams is always treated. Especially for basketball. Women are seen as mediocre in the field of sports and this has to stop. Men are not the only athletes.

  2. Mizz J
    March 24, 2015

    I don’t buy it Glen.

  3. nacinimod
    March 23, 2015

    Isn’t that the same DFA that gave all the women’s team uniforms and football equipments.Isn’t it the same DFA that has the women’s national team training right now in order to participate in an upcoming tournament..wasn’t it the same DFA that sent a women’s team to Barbados to play two friendly matches? Now I can understand if we say more can be done but to say they don’t care about women’s football n the women’s league is very unfair

  4. HONESTY
    March 23, 2015

    We need more women coaches to often we see men taking control of what is supposed to be women leadership,Some of them is just abusing………using the younger girls and the person reading this know him self …Time is quickly approaching good is not a police.

  5. Dunstan 'Maggie' Pet
    March 23, 2015

    All the Claims are on Point,i can attest to it. I am very much involved with the league for the past 2 years & have witnessed all these claims. D.F.A treat the Women’s league like Nothing,they just do it because F.I.F.A requires them to. The Men’s Premier League is all they Care about. I’ve heard a Senior member of the Executive saying that it is a Waste of Money to Send the Women overseas to Participate in Tournaments.Case in point, Last year they were supposed to participate in A Tournament,but when it was known that they were place in a Group that would play their games in Puerto rico,realizing they would have to spend additional monies to send the players for U.S visas, Certain members of the Executive felt it wasn’t worth it & so after Months of intense training,the players were given disappointing news that they wont be attending the tournament.

  6. grell
    March 23, 2015

    Upside down and corrupt country.

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