The youthful Waimakariri United players may not be among the front-runners to lift the Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup this season but it is not likely to be long before they make their mark on the both the domestic and international scene.

A batch of the most promising female footballers in the country have gathered at the Canterbury-based club and are honing their craft under the watchful eye of Shane Verma, also assistant coach of the Canterbury United Pride last season in the National Women’s League.  

The likes of Macey Fraser, Gabrielle Rennie and Jayda Stewart have already been capped by their country at age-group level and Verma is excited to see what the future holds for that talented trio, as well as other members of the Waimakariri squad.

“I believe we have a fair few girls that are capable of kicking on and becoming professionals or at least playing for the Football Ferns in the future,” he says.

“Obviously, there’s Macey, Gabi and Jayda who are involved in the New Zealand U-17s at the moment and we’ve got other young girls coming through as well. There’s a bright future ahead for a lot of these girls so I’m really excited to see where they get to in the next five or six years.”

Due to the inexperienced nature of the Waimakariri line-up, Verma’s young charges are at long odds to win the Kate Sheppard Cup – making its first appearance this year after being re-branded from the Women’s Knockout Cup – and the goal is instead to progress past the federation-based stages.

The first step towards that takes place on Saturday and will not be easy against an accomplished Cashmere Technical outfit. They are yet to lose in the Mainland Women’s Premier League and swept aside Waimakariri 5-0 in their most recent league meeting.

Several key figures were missing for Waimakariri in that encounter though and Verma is expecting a much closer contest this weekend.

“We’ve got more players available – there’s five that we didn’t have in the previous match,” he says. “So we’re quite confident going into it but it all depends on how we perform. If we play to our high standards then I believe the result can come our way.”

A good run in the cup could make history for Waimakariri as the club does not have a rich record of success in New Zealand’s leading female club competition and is yet to claim a title. Indeed, the trophy has only ever resided in Christchurch twice – in 1994 with Nomads United and in 2013 with Coastal Spirit.

Waimakiriri have had a taste of lifting silverware though with the majority of the senior squad also in the youth side that won the Youth Football Development Trust U-17 Tournament in Auckland in March. 

Given he has such a young group at his disposal, Verma’s priority is the personal development of each player but he must marry that up with the need to earn credible results for his club on the pitch. He feels this is not difficult though as achieving one aim tends to take care of the other.

“We focus highly on our performance and believe that if the individuals perform well within the team structure then the results will come with that. The big thing for the girls that are involved in the New Zealand set-up and the rest of the team is that, if they do perform well, it will help elevate themselves and hopefully catch the eye of the national selectors.”

One of the brightest prospects is Fraser but the U-17 international will not be available to face Cashmere Technical as she is still recovering from an injury. Her team mates will have to find a way past a former colleague as goalkeeper Blair Currie is now with Cashmere and will be doing her utmost to frustrate her previous club.

“Blair is a fantastic goalkeeper so we know we have to work a little bit harder to make those chances in front of goal count,” Verma says.

His players aren’t the only ones on a learning curve as Verma is also part of the highly-regarded NZF Coach Education Pathway and is currently working towards his OFC / NZF A-Licence – the highest qualification available on these shores.

“Going through the pathway has been key in shaping and challenging my thinking over the past few years. This year I was fortunate to share knowledge with some of the brightest minds from New Zealand and abroad on the A-Licence and that is one of the highlights of my coaching career,” he says.

There are five other matches taking place in round one of the Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup this weekend, below are all the match details.

All of the results from the Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup will be available over the weekend on www.nzfootball.co.nz

Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup Round One

Saturday 12 May

Cashmere Technical vs Waimakariri United, 12pm, Garrick Memorial Park
Roslyn Wakari vs Mosgiel, 1pm, Ellis Park

Sunday 13 May

Petone vs Waterside Karori, 1pm, Memorial Park (Petone)
Victoria University vs Brooklyn Northern United, 1pm, Boyd Wilson Field
Kapiti Coast United vs Stop Out, 1pm, Weka Park
Queenstown Rovers vs Green Island, 1pm, Queenstown Events Centre

Byes

Forrest Hill Milford United, Glenfield Rovers, Norwest United, Hibiscus Coast, Three Kings United, Eastern Suburbs, Central United, Papakura City, Ellerslie, Onehunga Sports, Western Springs, Fencibles United, Otumoetai, Hamilton Wanderers, Palmerston North Marist, Wairarapa United, Wellington United, Seatoun, Upper Hutt City, Universities, Halswell United, Coastal Spirit, Dunedin Technical, Otago University