Nico Girard has been appointed head coach of the WaiBOP Football National Women’s League (NWL) team for the 2019 season. 

Canadian Nico (pictured right), a WaiBOP Federation Development Officer based in Tauranga, is looking forward to getting stuck in to the role. “From what I’ve seen since I’ve been in the region, we have decent playing talent especially with some of the younger players coming through,” said Nico. “My job will be to help organise that talent, hopefully with a bit of experience added to the mix, then give the players the confidence and licence to express themselves. 

“From what I’ve heard, some of our performances last summer, if not the results, were pretty good,” explained Nico. “So I’ll be looking for the team to build on that and also work on displaying a bit more consistency during games and across a run of games. If we can nail that then I think we’ll have a decent summer.” 

Nico holds a Masters degree in physical education. He is a UEFA B licenced coach, is currently completing his A Licence and is experienced in high performance coaching in his native Canada. 

Cliff Harris (pictured left) will also be part of the management team for the 2019 season. Cliff has been successful over the past two years with the WaiBOP U16 Girls National Age Group squads and has a very good understanding of the depth of the region's talent in these age groups. He recently completed his OFC/NZF B Licence qualification. 

Further appointments will be made in due course. 

NWL trial dates and venues

• July 8: Papamoa, Gordon Spratt, 6.30pm-8.00pm. (This is for all non-NRFL players from Bay of Plenty or Waikato.)
• July 10: Cambridge, John Kerkhof Park, 6.30pm-8.00pm. (This is for all non-NRFL players from Waikato or Bay of Plenty.)
• July 15: Cambridge, John Kerkhof Park, 6.30pm-8.00pm. (This is for NRFL players and invites only.)
• July 24: Cambridge, John Kerkhof Park, 6.30pm-8.00pm. (This is for NRFL players and invites only.)

Players looking to be part of the squad should fill out THIS FORM with your key information.

If you have any questions you can contact Nico on nico.g@waibop.co.nz.