Vatican City women's national football team

The Vatican City women's national football team is the team that represents Vatican City in association football and is under the control of the Vatican Amateur Sports Association, headquartered in the Vatican's Cortile di San Damaso.[1] Gianfranco Guadagnoli, an Italian, is the current head coach, in addition to being the coach of the men's national team.[2] Susan Volpini is the current manager.[3]

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Vatican City national football team.

Vatican City
AssociationVatican Amateur Sports Association
Head coachGianfranco Guadagnoli
CaptainEugenie Tcheugoue
Home stadiumCampo Pio XI, Rome
First colours
First international
Vatican City 0–10 A.S. Roma
(Rome, Italy; 26 May 2019)

Players

As of 2018 there are approximately 800 female employees of Vatican City.[4] The squad consists of female Vatican employees and wives and daughters of Vatican employees. In 2019 20-25 women between the ages of 25 and 50 comprised the squad.[2] There were only lay workers and no nuns on the squad but nuns are welcome to play.[4][5][6] Although most team members are merely amateur players, some, such as Cameroonian captain Eugene Tcheugoue, have played at higher levels.[4]

Kit

As of 2019 the team wears an all yellow Givova top with the Sport Association logo in the center of the chest.[6]

History

At Vatican Family Day in June 2018, a group of females organized to play football against each other as the male employees had done for years. Soon after they competed in a tournament organized by the Bambino Gesù Hospital.[3]

The national representative team was first formed in 2019 and played its first match on 26 May of that year.[7] The team took on A.S. Roma of the women's Serie A, the highest level of women's football in Italy.[2] The Vatican side lost 0–10[8][6] at the Campo Pio XI.[9]

On 7 June 2019 the team played their first "away" match, traveling across Rome to face the women's team of Serie D club A.S.D. Trastevere Calcio. Despite the 1–3 defeat, the Vatican City team earned a penalty kick which was converted for the team's first-ever goal.[10]

After several months of preparation and planning, the team traveled to Austria to face Wiener Landesliga (women's third division) side FC Mariahilf at a stadium in Simmering in Vienna on 22 June 2019 as part of the club's twentieth anniversary. However, the match was abandoned after several FCM players displayed pro-choice t-shirts under their jerseys during the playing of Vatican City's national anthem.[2][11]

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

26 May 2019 Vatican City 0–10 A.S. Roma PrimaveraRome, Italy
Stadium: Campo Pio XI
7 June 2019 A.S.D. Trastevere Calcio 3–1 Vatican CityRome, Italy
Stadium: Vittorio Bachelet Stadium
22 June 2019 FC Mariahilf Cancelled Vatican CitySimmering, Vienna, Austria
Stadium: FCM Rasenplatz

Current squad
As of 18 May 2019[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Cristina Albini
Silvia Mancini
Francesca Martinelli
Arianna Meschini
Anna Maria Musolino
Barbara De Filippi
Alessia Cardigliano
Maura Turoli
Ilaria Valentini
Martina Rocco
No. Position Player
Laura Pucciarmati
Eugenie Tcheugoue
Federica Di Lorenzo
Claudia Bassetti
Francesca Folino
Chiara Nash
Floriana De Lorio
Chiara Armenti
Silvia De Fano

See also

References
  1. Nuti, Nicola. "Vaticano: 7 squadre per il campionato di calcio" (in Italian). News Cattoliche. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  2. Harris, Elise. "Women's soccer team in Austria apologizes to Vatican after game cancellation". cruxnow.com. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  3. "Female Employees Form Team". netny.tv. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  4. Squires, Nick. "Vatican forms its first women's football team". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  5. Mckenna, Josephine. "Vatican cancels women's team debut match after pro-choice protest". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  6. Lisi, Clemente. "Vatican's Soccer Team Had Little Choice But Refuse To Play In Austria". religionunplugged.com. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  7. Thomas, Marissa. "Pope gives blessing as Vatican launches women's football team". prostinternational.com. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  8. Borghese, Livia; Robinson, Matthew. "Vatican cancels football match with Vienna over anti-abortion protests". CNN. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  9. Masotti, Adriana. "Prima partita per la squadra femminile di calcio vaticana" (in Italian). vaticannews.va. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  10. "Trastevere– Citta' del Vaticano, Un 'Amichevole in Rosa allo Stadium" (in Italian). A.S.D. Trastevere Calcio. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  11. Wimmer, Anian Christoph. "Abortion, LGBT activists disrupt Vatican women footballers' debut". catholicherald.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  12. "Ecco chi sono le giocatrici della Rappresentativa Femminile Vaticana *Riproduzione Riservata" (in Italian). Vatican Amateur Sports Association. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
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