2017 Women’s World Championships Preview

When the Great Britain Lions Women’s team fly out to Canada on June 21st, they will be making history. They will be our first representative side to take part in a World Championship tournament. The event will be their opportunity to cement their status in the elite echelons of the women’s game, and it’s all the more impressive given the relatively short period of time that the team have been competing. On the international stage, to date, they have played seven times, starting in 2013, securing an impressive 6 and 1 overall record. Their only defeat came in the 2015 European Championships final against Finland, interestingly, that’s exactly who they will face in the opening game of the tournament on June 24. When they fly home on July 1st, they’ll be hoping that they need to pay some excess baggage charges to cover the weight of the medals they will all be wearing!

This will be the third time that the Championships have been held. Sweden were the hosts in 2010, which saw the USA defeating Canada in the final 66-0. Finland took the bronze medals, with Germany securing 4th place. Three years later the second Championships took place in Finland, with the same combatants in the final, this time USA took it 64-0, hosts Finland took bronze and once again, Germany came in 4th. In 2017 therefore, the USA will be looking to “three-peat”.

Hosted by the Canadian federation in Langley, British Columbia, all the games will be played at the impressive McLeod stadium. The competition will be held between six teams, current Champions, the USA (seeded 1), hosts Canada (2), European powerhouses Finland (3) and Great Britain (4), along with Australia (5) and Mexico (6). Rather than splitting the sides into two divisions, the organisers have seeded the teams and will have three “Gamedays”.

Gameday One – June 24 - will see GB play Finland in a re-match of the European Championship final to open the tournament. Next up we will see Canada take on Australia, with the USA playing Mexico to finish the first series of games.

Gameday Two – June 27 – One match-up is already on the schedule, Australia will play Mexico. The other match-ups will depend on the results from Gameday One. The winners of the Finland GB contest will play Canada, with the losers playing the USA.

Gameday Three – June 30 – Final standings day. Based on the previous results there will be contests to decide the Gold, Silver and Bronze medallists, along with the overall ranking positions.

I reached out to representatives of the teams to capture their thoughts heading into the tournament. First up I spoke with the quarterback of the reigning champions, Sami Grisafe.

When did you start playing? I started playing football when I was 10 years old.

Have you always played quarterback? Yes, Quarterback has always been my primary position. I also played a little outside linebacker when I was in high school and during my first year playing for the Chicago Force.

Do you still play for Chicago? Yes. I'm Chicago Force through and through.

Is it right that you have come out of retirement to play in the Worlds? Not entirely. This is the last season the Chicago Force General Manager and Owner, Linda Bache will be with theteam. I wanted to come back to be a part of her last season, play for Coach Konecki one more time, and take the field with my sisters again. It was also very appealing to have the opportunity to possibly play for Team USA in the World Championship for the third time. It wasn't necessarily a deciding factor, but it certainly contributed to the allure of one more season.

What are you looking forward to most about the championships? I'm looking forward to seeing how the game has progressed internationally. I played in the first WWC in 2010 and again in 2013. I'm excited to see the work that every country has done in the past four years to prepare for this tournament. These are exciting times for our sport. There is a hunger for knowledge, a drive for progress, and a genuine love for a game that makes for an unforgettable experience for anyone involved. Whether you're a player, a coach, or a spectator, the energy is undeniable.

Which country do you see as the biggest threat to your title? The Women's World Championship is very difficult to predict. Four years is a lot of time to get better. I look at any opponent we face as a threat to our title.

I found that Australian Pier Pritchard is eager to get over to Canada and compete.

“I started playing 4 years ago after following my brother to one of his practices. I play as a cornerback for the Northwestern Phoenix. I'm looking forward to meeting women from all of the world that share the same love I have for the game. I definitely believe there will be an upset. We've worked really hard to be / get here, so we are totally ready for what's to come from Canada. We're the underdogs coming into the World Championships and a lot of people have underestimated us as a country. So I'm excited to see what we will bring to the world stage. I hope the World is ready for the ladies from the Australian Outback”.

Finland and GB are great rivals, so I asked quarterback Jona Hakkarainen for her take on things.

“I would say that it's very interesting to have a re-match. I think GB has developed so fast and will be a tight opponent. They have a strong team and they hit hard. It truly will be a tough game. I think team Finland is ready for the fight and are a strong team full of talented players”.

I also attempted to contact members of the Canadian and Mexican programmes but was unable to secure a response.

So how do the GB Lions see it? I asked some key personnel, first up is Head Coach Jim Messenger.

“Really excited about this opportunity to be the first BAFA Great Britain team, (tackle football) to play in a World Championship. For many people, just to play in the top event of your chosen sport is a lifetime goal. So we are all feeling tremendously privileged to be going. The level of competition will, by definition, be as tough as it can be. We don't have the experience or the resources of the other teams in the tournament but I know we will give it our best shot. But whatever the outcome of the games, it will be an amazing experience to be part of. We will learn a huge amount from the experience to bring back to the British game. Thanks to everyone in BAFA for their support for the team and Women's football. #WeAreGB!

Quarterback, Jo Kilby

“Great Britain has arguably been given the hardest draw of any nation in trying to secure a medal at this year’s World Championships. GB has to play 3rd seeds, Finland, and then either Canada or the US (2nd and 1st seeds respectively) with a win having to come from one of these two fixtures in order for the team to progress. It’s a tall task but it’s not like we’re not used to being underdogs, in fact it’s something we revel in, so come June 24th we’ll know what we have to do and where we need to be and we’ll be going full throttle to get there”.

Phoebe Schecter, linebacker

“The team is beyond excited to be heading off to the WWC in June. We have a huge challenge ahead of us, but the staff and coaches are doing everything to put us in the best position to succeed. The support from the British community has been overwhelming and we look to make everyone proud”.

Predictions

Undoubtedly, all the teams will have prepared hard for this event, but you’d have to see USA as the favourites, twice winners and with shut-outs in the last two finals, it’s hard to look beyond them. Canada have the home advantage and will be hopeful of improving on their two sets of silver medals, so we could see the same teams in the final for the third time. The contest between Finland and Great Britain might be classed as the unofficial “European Championship” and it could just provide us with the bronze medallists. We’ll have to wait and see how it all pans out.

One thing the Lions will need to do is totally focus on the task in hand, suspending their normality for a glorious week of competition, leaving any distractions behind them. Having seen them play, I can testify that they have a host of talented playmakers on both sides of the ball. As we log on to watch the games (I’m hoping they are all streamed) it will be a pleasure to watch the best players in the world battle it out. For those of us watching at home, we will feel the pride as we see the Lions roar!

GB Lions images by Kyle Hemsley