Nomads ready for showcase

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This article was published 02/11/2015 (3871 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a league of their own, but the Manitoba Girls Football Association wants to tackle the world.

The MGFA North Winnipeg Nomads are roaming to the Twin Cities to showcase its girls football program. The Nomads junior and senior girls’ teams will play in St. Paul, Minn. during the halftime of the University of St. Thomas Tommies home game Nov. 7.

Nomads past president Jeffrey Bannon said the football club has developed a relationship with the St. Thomas Tommies, with the Tommies visiting north Winnipeg for two games in the spring.

Bannon said St. Thomas was intrigued by the MGFA program because it’s believed to be the first of its kind in North America.  

“They’re extremely excited because they don’t have female tackle football in the States, so they’re fascinated and very interested in how they can grow the sport there,” Bannon said. “Our girls’ teams are our fastest growing teams and they’re just amazed that we have young female athletes playing football and playing it extremely well.

“Our girls are going to go down there and play in front of 8,000 people. It’s exciting and the chance of a lifetime for these ladies.”

The MGFA is a tackle football program for girls aged eight to 16. Founded in 2011 by Tannis Wilson and Lisa Zueff-Cummings, the MGFA features four football clubs — the Nomads, the East Side Eagles, the St. James Rods and the St. Vital Mustangs — and junior and senior age groups. The teams play in the spring in a six-a-side format, instead of the usual 12 players in Canadian football.

Wilson, who founded the Manitoba Fearless, a team in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League, said the MGFA is as competitive as any boys’ football program.  

“The girls are tenacious,” Wilson said. “They run over people with no issues whatsoever. They hit harder than most of the boys I coached in the MMFA (Manitoba Minor Football Association), but the parents just feel more comfortable because the girls are playing against like people.”

Wilson said the MGFA hopes to add two more clubs to its roster for the spring, with the ultimate goal of having every football club in Manitoba offer its program.  
For more information on the MGFA, go to www.manitobagirlsfootball.com