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Bahrain’s futsal females are still flying high from their victory in last month’s GCC Games and aim to carry the winning streak forward in this month’s third West Asian Women’s Futsal Championship in Saudi Arabia.
The squad that brought pride to the kingdom is planning a repeat performance in Jeddah, led by Coach Lino Gomez, as they take on teams from Palestine, Iraq and the UAE in Group A from June 16 to 24.
“We are focusing on the West Asian tournament where we are looking to achieve good results and win the trophy for Bahrain again,” said Mohamed Al Sharqawi, the team’s 37-year-old master trainer and fitness coach from East Riffa. “Winning the GCC Games was an amazing feeling, especially when all the time and effort to achieve a specific goal was reached. No words can explain our feeling of winning gold.”
The team spent five months in preparation for the GCC Games, which according to Al Sharqawi wasn’t always an easy feat as they struggled with finding courts to train on and co-ordinating with players as some are students and others have jobs. Nonetheless, their hard work paid off.
“We didn’t just win, we won undefeated,” said Yasmine Fayez Tobellah, the excited 32-year-old team captain. “We have been training for months with only a few days off, all through Ramadan as well. Winning makes all the hard times worth it. Nothing beats this feeling. I’m proud of all the girls in the team and I would like to thank Coach Lino as well.
“Our team also appreciates all the support we received. It means a lot to us and we hope to do you proud. As for the young girls supporting us, if you want to be a footballer too you can do it! Just practice hard and don’t let anything stand in the way of your dreams.”
It was a proud moment when the Bahrain women’s team defeated Kuwait 2-1 in the final of the futsal event to clinch the gold medal at the Games in Kuwait.
Bahrain led 2-0 at half-time after Shaikha AlAnood Al Khalifa, winger, and Hessa Al Isa Reyadh, midfielder, found the back of the net. Kuwait managed to reduce the margin after the interval through Nihal Al Sugaibi.
This is a second GCC Games golden victory for the ‘ladies in red’, as they secured a win in 2019.
“We won the last edition of this tournament, so we’ve successfully defended our title,” added Tobellah, a personal trainer from Tubli. “We hope to do well in the upcoming tournament and make you all proud again. Futsal is way more fast paced and intense than football. You also need to work as a team more than ever.”
The other group in the West Asian Women’s Futsal Championship includes Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia and the top two will advance to the final four.
