International Women’s Day takes place on March 8th and in honor of this special day we have the chance to take a closer look at a woman who is responsible for Maccabi Tel Aviv’s women’s team. The squad is made up of young women aged 6-12 and has 19 players. Mor Shaked is the club’s coach and is the person behind its creation together with Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen. Shaked and one of the player’s, Noa Miron spoke about the women’s team and being part of a football club.
Being a trailblazer:
Shaked who is 26 years old and coach’s the Maccabi Tel Aviv women’s team is excited to be a pioneer: “Starting a women’s team at the biggest club in the country is definitely breaking a glass ceiling, but this is just the beginning as we would like to have a women’s club for young girls aged 5 and up with the same conditions as the boy’s teams in order to reach the highest level in Israel and around the world. If we can build the foundation properly for young girls, then there’s no question that we can reach the top of the top.”
Noa Miron, one of the young women playing under Shaked is excited about the path that she is blazing: “I feel that I am a really accomplishing something big by playing football. There are very few girls playing football, but by playing on this team we are showing everyone that it’s possible for women to play.”
How does it feel to be a role model for other girls and women in world that is considered to be dominated by males? Shaked didn’t look to compare men and women: “This world is for everyone and I’m not interested in looking at definitions. The love for football connects everyone and it has nothing to do with gender.” Noa: “It may be odd sometimes for other people, but it’s just natural to me. It’s exciting to play and I feel like I am a woman when I do.”
Inspiration:
Shaked dreams of continuing to expand the women’s program at Maccabi Tel Aviv and for it to be the most professional institution for girls and women as she explained that she didn’t have a particular inspirational role model: “As of today, my inspiration comes from the desire to build something at Maccabi that doesn’t exist at any other club in the country and that it will continue for many years to come and impact the future generations.” Noa, who began playing football with her brother at a very young age, said: “There is a specific person who I look up to as a role model and she isn’t a player, but it’s my mother who always supports me as she inspired me to reach my dreams and goals.”
What’s missing in women’s football:
Shaked believes that there is not enough awareness: “There are many girls who like football but they don’t know that women’s teams exist. It’s very important to publicize and promote women’s football in order that more people become aware of it.” Noa added: “There isn’t enough women’s football on TV and its barely discussed.”
Goals going forward:
“I’d be happy to start more and more women’s teams at Maccabi for all are groups and to give them a framework for anyone who likes to play,” Shaked explained. “I’m not ashamed to say that my dream is to coach a team in the Champions League in a few years.” Noa concluded: “My dream is to continue playing football and to keep doing interesting and challenging things into the future.”
