Because this is a Women’s World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 24 participating nations. In this instalment, I will look at Ecuador, who are making their first ever appearance at the Women’s World Cup. Ecuador have been drawn in Group C, along with Japan, Switzerland, and Cameroon.  They will play their first match against Cameroon on Monday, June 8th, 2015.

I have just returned from attending and presenting at the 8th World Congress on Science and Football in Copenhagen, Denmark.  One issue that was discussed at length at the Congress was the importance and value placed on coach education.  In many countries (including Ecuador) becoming  a coach at the higher levels (university teams, professional teams, and national teams) requires a large amount of specific education in coaching.  Sometimes the national coaching licenses can take up to 3-4 years to complete.

Although Vanessa Arauz, the Head Coach of Ecaudor’s Women’s National Team, is young – at only 26 years of age she is the youngest Head Coach at this year’s Women’s World Cup – she has already spent a considerable amount of time becoming an expert in her field.  Fifa.com had this to say about her:

 “Vanessa Arauz will only be 26 by the time Canada 2015 comes round, but her youth is not synonymous with inexperience: in 2011, she became the first woman to graduate with a football coaching title in Ecuador – and with the second-highest mark overall. As a reward, the former Emelec midfielder was named assistant of Ecuador’s senior women’s team. She occupied that role until 2013, when she was made head coach of all the country’s female sides.”

Can a young but very experienced Head Coach drive her players to get out of a wide-open group that includes three other World Cup newcomers?  We will have to wait and see what happens in 1 month’s time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.