You shall go to the ball: Cameroonian girls defy prejudice to pursue dreams

On the dirt pitches of Yaounde, teenage girls are setting their sights on representing their country in the World Cup finals

When Gaelle Asheri first started playing soccer in the dirt streets near her home in Cameroon’s capital, she was the only girl on the informal neighbourhood teams which used stones for goal posts and kept score by chalking results on a wall.

Asheri, 17, and her teammate Ida Pouadjeu, 16, are now among the first wave of girls being trained by professional coaches at the Rails Foot Academy in Yaounde. It was set up in January to foster female soccer talent in a country where many still see the sport as a man’s game.

“I used to train with boys, so with boys there were some exercises I was not allowed to do because I am a girl,” Asheri says.

Global interest in women’s soccer is growing and Fifa hopes over a billion viewers will tune in to watch the Women’s World Cup in June. Cameroon’s national side, known as the Indomitable Lionesses, was one of three African teams to qualify.

Its star player, Gaelle Enganamouit, was the brains behind RFA – the West African country’s first female soccer academy.

The academy currently trains around 70 girls, most of whom come from poor backgrounds.

“Here they have everything: coaches, jerseys, training equipment, a physiotherapist, and the guidance we give them all the time. Gaelle really wants these kids to be the next generation,” Asheri says.

“I’ve seen Gaelle play on TV. I’ve never missed one of her matches. She plays so well, I want to be like her,” Pouadjeu says.

Both girls initially faced opposition from family members who were worried that the sport was unfeminine. But neither have been deterred by such prejudice.

“I picked up the ball, I kicked it and I never looked back,” Asheri says.

Reuters