Poletti 
Nils Nielsen with Maika Hamano following Japan's 1-0 win in the Women's Asian Cup Final. Photo: Poletti/Round Ball Australia
As Japan defeated Australia to win the Women’s Asian Cup, there was one Australian who was celebrating lifting the trophy. Leah Blayney.
The former Young Matildas coach was hired by Nils Nielsen to join his coaching staff, and has quickly become a popular figure within the set-up amongst the players.
Maika Hamano, who was awarded Player of the Match in the Final, said that the team is so lucky to have Blayney as part of the coaching team and that she enjoys working with her.
Hamano’s team-mate Yui Hasegawa was also complimentary of Blayney, describing her as passionate and a really good person.
It is traits like that which led to Nielsen making the decision to hire Blayney, with the 54-year-old coaching knowing almost immediately that he wanted Blayney on board.
“She is very smart and very dedicated to her job,” Nielsen said.
“I work on instinct, and the first time I talked to her, I knew [I wanted her] so [the Japan Football Association] better make a contract with her, so they did.
“It didn’t take me more than five minutes in the conversation because it’s also about the relation[ship] you have.
“For me, it was a very very good start to sign Leah and it’s even better now that I know her more. She’s strong, analytical, dedicated, a great personality, and most importantly, she’s just herself. She doesn’t pretend to be someone she’s not.
Nielsen described it as the most perfect quality he things one can have, which means he can always count on her.
A New Mandate for Women’s Football From FIFA
Before the Women’s Asian Cup Final, FIFA announced what it described as a landmark decision to regulate that for FIFA’s Women’s Tournaments, all coaching teams would be required to have at least one female head coach or assistant coach.
That mandate starts this year with the U-17 and U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cups and FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Whilst both teams that made the Women’s Asian Cup Final were led by men, Emily Husband (Australia) and Leah Blayney (Japan) were on the bench as assistant coaches.
Speaking to The Dubcast prior to the tournament, Husband said it was her first full-time role in football, highlighting the disparities and difficulties that can be presented for female coaches in getting opportunities to develop and further their careers.
Nielsen thinks the FIFA initiative is fantastic and was surprised that some nations are so far behind in developing female coaches.
“When I was in Denmark, I changed the whole staff so it was pretty much all former players and females for the same reason,” Nielsen said.
“It’s the women’s game. They understand the women. No matter how much I try, no matter how much I listen, I will never be able to understand women the way women [do].
“The qualities they have, they just need to have a break, and then you can see how good they are.
“I have absolutely no problem with that. [FIFA] should have done that sooner. It’s actually overdue. I’m happy that something is happening now.”
Listen to the latest episode of The Dubcast, Round Ball Australia’s Women’s Football podcast on Spotify, Apple, or watch on YouTube, with new episodes every Wednesday.