Photo: MFA Women Facebook Page
Ms Brenda Borg, an administrator of the University of Malta’s Faculty of Laws, and a professional football player, was part of Malta’s women football team in their historic win against Latvia on Tuesday 5 December.
She made her debut with the national team back in 2013 at fifteen years of age and has been a regular player with the national squad ever since.
"To be honest I am finding it difficult to put my feelings into words for what I have just experienced. To be able to achieve something big like this, being part of something big like this... it is a feeling of great pride and satisfaction. We have put our country on the map, and more importantly, we have gained long-overdue respect from people who might have never taken women's football seriously", Ms Borg told Newspoint.
Thanks to two goals by Kailey Willis and Maria Farrugia, this win secured the team a promotion in the UEFA Nations League. Malta needed a win or a draw to finish top of their UEFA Nations C Group.
Things didn’t look easy when Latvia scored early in the second half, courtesy of a penalty at the 49th minute mark.
However, the Maltese team went on undeterred, and managed to come out on top. Willis brought the game back level, and then Farrugia put Malta in the lead after a one-on-one with the Latvian goalkeeper.
"There is still a long way to go, however, it is nice to finally see our sacrifices being recognised. Many have followed and applauded this historic achievement, but few are those who know what goes on behind the scenes. From 9 - 5 to jobs, to going straight to training on a daily basis is no mean feat, and more people need to understand this," Ms Borg continued.
It’s the first time ever that a national football team has secured promotion in a senior footballing tournament.
We congratulate the whole team for such an important win and wish them many more successes in the near future!
