World Footy News

The USAFL women’s team USA Freedom recently held their annual selection trials at a training camp in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There was a huge turnout to the event, including seasoned Freedom players returning from the 2011 International Cup and new players coming up through their local teams.

Following the success of the training camp, and the continued increase in the popularity of the sport across both the men’s and women’s camps, the USAFL has announced its decision to host men’s and women’s Development squads, alongside their top level national squads, at the 49th Parallel Cup which will be held in Dublin, Ohio on August the 4th.

The announcement shows a move to ensure that more players are able to put their skills on show and impress the selectors with the 2014 International Cup now only two years away. Freedom Head Coach Leigh Barnes admitted the difficult nature of both selecting the teams and for the women getting to the training camp due to the geographically diverse nature of the players and the teams in the USA.

However, looking forward, he talked about the importance of the decision in allowing a second game for the development and progression of women’s football in the USA and the continued growth of the Freedom programme.

The coaching panel will look at the performance of women across both squads as part of the International Cup team selection process.

The two Freedom teams will be as follows:

FREEDOM SQUAD A

FREEDOM SQUAD B

There are still some spots available on the Development team, even for women who weren’t able to make the Freedom training camp, so anyone who is interested in working towards a Freedom spot for the 2014 International Cup should contact Head Coach Leigh Barnes freedcomcoach@usafl.com as soon as possible.