AS with all matters football, the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic have been viewed through the prism of the men's game. But there are many more questions than answers for women's football as well – and hopefully some clarity might arrive on Tuesday when UEFA hold their emergency meeting with stakeholders.
At international level, the Euro 2021 qualifying campaign will be derailed. There seems to be no chance of Scotland's away game in Cyprus on April 9, or the one against Portugal at Easter Road five days later, going ahead. That's possibly also true of the June double-header against Albania and Finland.
A further complication is that the men's Euro 2020, scheduled for this summer, is now being mooted for 2021. So what happens to the women's Euros? Will both tournaments be played at the same time, or perhaps one immediately after the other?
One alternative would be to switch the women's tournament in England to 2022 – something that would be feasible given that the men's World Cup in Qatar is being held in November and December. But, again, how would that impact on 2023 women's World Cup qualifying?
At European club level the Champions League quarter-finals scheduled for March 25 and April 1 can be written off. Glasgow City's home tie against Wolfsburg would, in any case, have had a crowd restriction of 500 had it gone ahead instead of the 1200 attendance club officials were anticipating.
City have already paid for flights to Germany, as well as the accommodation, for the second leg. There is also the small matter of the £72,500 the club were due to receive from UEFA for reaching the last eight. Presumably that has to be honoured, no matter what.
Desperately frustrating though the entire situation is for all teams and players, at least the vast majority of SWPL clubs will not have to worry about the financial ramifications facing their SPFL counterparts. That's because there are overwhelmingly no wages to be paid, but Rangers, in particular, Celtic, Glasgow City and Hibernian are affected.
Rangers have almost a full squad of players receiving monthly pay cheques. This unforeseen health crisis could not have come at a worse time for them.
Although City, too, will take a hit, head coach Scott Booth believes the Scottish FA's decision to shut down all football under its jurisdiction was the correct one. “It's obviously not good for football, and it's not good for football fans, but I think it's a necessary step, to be honest,” he said.
“You've got to go with what the advice is. It's impossible for the Champions League to continue when all the national associations are cancelling their games. Would Wolfsburg travel over here for the first leg? I doubt it.
“There's so much contact in football and for the moment it's safer for everybody – the staff, the players and everybody at the clubs – to try and stay away from each other.”
THREE wins in three games was an ideal Pinatar Cup outcome for Shelley Kerr and her coaching staff. Particularly so as all 23 fit players in her squad were given pitch time.
Arsenal's Lisa Evans had a couple of niggles and was the exception, while Nic Docherty was restricted to 16 minutes at the start of the last game against Northern Ireland after being hit by illness late in the warm-up. But plenty of others had extended opportunities to stake claims for places.
Tottenham central defender Hannah Godfrey continued to impress Kerr after making her debut in November's Euro qualifier against Albania. There were two goals for West Ham striker Martha Thomas in her first Scotland game, and first-ever senior international goals also for Birmingham City's Abbi Grant.
“Hannah is a no-nonsense defender who does the fundamentals really well,” Kerr confirmed. “I was impressed with Martha, the way she turns with the ball, and she was really sharp.
“I thought Lucy [Graham] did well. She has improved significantly now that she's captain at Everton and is showing good form week in, week out.”
When international football does return, Kerr will have plenty of pondering to do. In goal, Jenna Fife staked a strong claim to be No 1 with an outstanding game against Ukraine. Emma Mitchell was impressive at left-back, while the class of Caroline Weir – who, to her credit, wanted to start the third game as well – and Erin Cuthbert shone through as ever.
There were first caps for Sam Kerr and Amy Muir. The Scotland Under-19 side also played two games at the Pinatar Arena, with Glasgow City central defender Jenna Clark the stand-out.
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