Women's Muratti called off

Wednesday 08 February 2017

It's been announced that the women's Muratti will not be played this year, because Guernsey are having trouble finding the players.

The ladies inter-insular football competition is played between Jersey and Guernsey, with Jersey being the current champions after a record victory scoreline last year of 9-0. It was not only the highest winning margin in any Muratti, but the youngest ever Muratti goal-scorer, Natasha Keen, netted at the age of just 16.

But the Guernsey FA issued a statement explaining that they were having trouble finding enough players affiliated to them, after the GFA Women’s League was discontinued.

GFA Chairman Chris Schofield commented “In March 2016 the GFA Board met with senior players and advised them that we had established the Guernsey Ladies Football Club (GLFC) and were developing a competitive match programme in conjunction with the Jersey Football Association (JFA).  The object of the initiative was to ensure that a Ladies club was affiliated to the GFA and that it played at a more competitive level than the previous defunct GFA Women’s League.  In addition it was intended to provide a pool of eligible players from which to select a representative team for the Inter-Insular Competition. 

"However in the summer of 2016 the GFA learned that a majority of the senior Island players had elected to play for a newly formed team, Ormer Ladies FC, and play their matches in the UK. Ormer FC play their home matches in Hampshire and are therefore affiliated to the Hampshire FA."

 A statement from the Jersey Football Association added: “The Jersey Football Association is disappointed that the Women’s Muratti will not be held in May 2017 but the Guernsey Football Association has kept us fully informed of their discussions with their Women players and the subsequent outcome. We hope, however, that these difficulties can be resolved in the near future and that the Women’s Muratti, which is so important to the development of Women’s football in the Channel Islands, can be reinstated as soon as possible.” 

GFA CEO Gary Roberts commented: “Over the past year the GFA has led a number of meetings with player representatives advising them of the Inter-Insular Football Trophy rules. The last meeting was on Monday 23rd January 2017 when the GFA Board requested that the players confirm if they would be prepared to accommodate the GFA’s affiliation requirements, which as with all other clubs in Guernsey, would include payment of an annual subscription. Regrettably it was not possible to reach agreement with the players’ representatives, and the Board concluded that a suitable women’s representative team could not therefore be formed in the time available.”