Held in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa on 1-2 March, the Women’s Football Development Seminar was chaired by Helga Chavez, head of development at the Honduran Football Association (FENAFUTH), and FIFA consultant Elieth Artavia. The two-day event brought together football administrators and directors, officials and representatives of clubs in the country’s Professional Football League (LFP), Liga de Ascenso (Honduras’ second flight), and the various women’s leagues affiliated to FENAFUTH and covering all age groups. In passing on her experience to the attendees, Artavia focused on the specific needs of FENAFUTH. Very practical in nature, the sessions centred on the highest level of development of women’s football in Honduras.

Giving her views on the seminar, Artavia said: “It’s been a very enriching experience for me as a FIFA women’s football expert, and that’s because we’re looking at the reality on the ground and deciding how programmes should be tracked in response to that. It’ll help us plan programmes with actions that can realistically respond to urgent needs, such as the organisation and promotion of regional tournaments and the development of both sporting and administrative skills.” In voicing his agreement, FENAFUTH Secretary General Jose Ernesto Mejia said: “Having a women’s football expert like Elieth Artavia with us meant that attendees had access to a wealth of practical knowledge that will help us promote football in this specialist FIFA area.” The seminar was notable for some fruitful dialogue between those responsible for implementing women’s football development policies in Honduras and the relevant authorities. “We opened up a space for self-appraisal between the people taking part and FENAFUTH, and we saw some really good joint proposals for the development of the women’s game in Honduras in administrative terms,” added Artavia. “We’re looking for good governance and the inclusion of more women in the game, which are two of FIFA’s main objectives.”

The main objective of the sessions was to develop girls’ football and prepare the ground for a new generation of young women with dreams of becoming professional players and taking Honduras on to the global stage. “We want to lay the foundations for gender equality and the inclusion of women in football, while also putting everything we have into expanding the talent programme,” said Chavez. Mejia echoed those words: “Our association has been working on different processes in women’s football because we know we have the talent to keep developing the game in every region in the country.”

The first steps have already been taken, with knowledge and analysis being applied on the ground thanks to football festivals held in the departments of Francisco Morazan, Trujillo, Islas de la Bahia, Valle, El Paraiso, Copan and Santa Barbara. In setting out a road map for stepping up the pace of development in the immediate future, Artavia said: “The main thing is to organise regional courses for administrators and directors so we can improve the way in which women’s football is managed. We then need to promote regional lower-league women’s tournaments and support and train people so they can organise them. On top of that, we need to work with the LFP to improve skills in the women’s top flight. And, of course, we have to get the people working directly with women’s football to obtain more training for Level D and C coaching licenses.”