In the past weeks, football governing bodies across the globe have been trying to deal with the coronavirus havoc in any possible way in bid to restore some normality to the Beautiful Game.

Talks have been ongoing on resuming training sessions in an innovative way to respect health authorities guidelines. Numerous plans have also been drafted to set a timeframe for the restart of club competitions.

However, in the midst of all this chaos, there is one movement that could be vulnerable during this period – the women’s game.

Women’s football has been rapidly growing in the past years and its breakthrough arrived during last summer’s World Cup, which has inevitably put the female players under increasing spotlight, leading to several improvements in this sector across Europe and the rest of the world.

Financial injection, marketing opportunities, professional branding and new championships had started to reshape the women’s game all over the globe.

However, the disruption caused by the fast-spread Covid-19 might have dealt a blow, albeit temporarily, to the development of the women’s game.

“The way I see it, this situation is totally out of our hands,” Malta defender Emma Lipman told the Sunday Times of Malta.

“My club (Florentia San Gimignano) have agreed to resume playing whenever there is the opportunity, but at the same time these talks seem irrelevant because it will be down to government and authorities – these are decisions beyond the world of football.”

Lipman’s Florentia feature in the Italian Serie A and their last game was a 3-0 win over Orobica back in February 23. This came just before the international break which saw Malta women beat Georgia and lose narrowly to Bosnia-Herzegovina in their European qualifiers.

“I still think that through all this negativity we can take some positives from this unthinkable scenario. We can take a step back and appreciate what we have. We need to realise how powerful football is in bringing communities together,” Lipman explained.

“Whenever we get back on the football field it will be great and in addition, we might also do it with a different perspective in the love of this game.”

Given the health emergency in Italy, the government has announced a lockdown extension until May 3, which means that any football activity is banned before May 4.

A decision which impacts not only Lipman but also four other Malta internationals namely Shona Zammit, Ylenia Carabott, Martina Borg and Nicole Sciberras.

Zammit, like Lipman, was also on the books of a Serie A club as she joined Pink Bari at the start of the season. Bari’s last game was on February 22, a 2-2 stalemate with Inter.

“It feels strange not being able to meet your team-mates and train daily like we used to do in the past months,” Zammit said.

“With a lot of incertainity surrounding football, it is very challenging to keep yourself motivated.

I do different workouts at home to maintain my fitness but is it not the same as an actual game – nonetheless, we still have to stick together to overcome this rough patch.”

Zammit also underlined her disappointment in not being able to complete her first season overseas in normal circumstances.

“It is already disappointing in having to pause from this adventure,” she said. “This was always my dream since I was a child, but hopefully once order is restored I will be able to hold on to this dream a little more.

“All I can do is work and be ready to continue from where I left off.”

For Carabott, the absence of football has been even longer as her side’s last game, Chievo Fortitudo, was played on February 16 (3-0 win at Riozzese – Serie B) while she was forced to sit out of Malta’s international commitments due to quarantine restrictions. 

“The wait to play football has been very long for me and it feels like a nightmare,” she said.

“Nevertheless, I would like to show my appreciation to all those who are involved directly in dealing with this pandemic – their efforts are immense because our health is a priority.”

In order to retain her fitness, Carabott is making use of Birkirkara FC facilities.

“I would like to thank my previous club Birkirkara for allowing me to use their facilities, so that I am able to train on a football pitch.

“Should the league be cancelled, I would be very disappointed, but it would be understandable at the same time. This season has been pretty hard with all the changes I had to go through in moving to a new country, but I don’t give up easily and I would be ready to take on the challenge next year.”

Borg, who this year was featuring for Serie C side Sassari Torres, has also expressed her disappointment in not being able to play football given that her last club game was on February 16 (1-1 vs Arezzo).

“It is very frustrating not being able to play for three points week in week out. I dedicate most of my time to football and being away from it is very challenging,” she said.

With Sassari challenging for a Serie B promotion, cancelling the season would be a heavy blow for the club and Borg herself.

“This year’s target was to clinch promotion and it would be a heavy blow for us should the league be annulled,” Borg underlined.

“We were working so hard and we were on the right track – however, health is the top priority and at this point, football becomes a secondary issue.”

Sciberras, on her part, contributed to Juventus Women Primavera success in the Viareggio Tournament and scored a league goal just before the football season went on this unexpected hiatus.

“I miss everything – the team, the training sessions and the daily routine,” Sciberras said.

“Without football, I feel a bit lost and I just hope we can resume to normality as soon as possible.”

However, Sciberras also stressed out that it is crucial to remain positive despite the difficult situation.

“I am really disappointed that such an important year for me had to come to an early stop,” she explained.

“However, one has to remain positive and look forward so once normality resumes, we will all be prepared.”

Meanwhile, Rachel Cuschieri has also seen her PSV Vrouwen’s commitments come to a halt due to the virus.

The Dutch FA is expected to announce any decision about the future of the league come April 21, with Cuschieri’s side leading the championship.

Last month, they were due to host rivals Ajax at the famous PSV Stadion.

“It’s a dreadful feeling not having to play proper football and not seeing my team-mates,” Cuschieri explained.

“If the league gets postponed, it will be a blow for us as we were top of the standings and we worked really hard to retain that position. It will be down to the Dutch FA to decide the outcome of our championship, whether it gets cancelled or at least stopped now and reward teams according their final positions.”

Blacks Cats hopes dashed

Another Malta international who plies her trade overseas is Maria Farrugia who had a memorable season at Sunderland Ladies until the English FA Council decided to make leagues from tiers 3-7 of the women’s pyramid null and void.

Read: Maria Farrugia's Sunderland's promotion hopes dashed. 

With Sunderland featuring in tier 3, this meant that despite they were leading the championship with 40 points in 14 games, 11 clear from second-placed Derby County, they won’t be entitled to automatic promotion to the Championship.

Farrugia’s side was also meant to play the FA Women’s National League Cup final.