Hamidah, who already had friends in the team, became hooked.
“I’ve been committing fully since the start of the year. We train twice a week but recently a new session was added just for female players to prepare us for the women’s tournaments coming up very soon,” she said.
“We even compete regionally, with a tournament happening (later this year) in Seremban,” she said.
“I ONLY FOLLOW LOCAL WOMEN’S FOOTBALL”
Ask Hamidah who her favourite international footballers are and she’s stumped. But talk about local football, especially women’s football, and she rattles on.
It is a dedication undoubtedly honed through the years spent supporting Mira, now 22.
“We’re close,” Mira told CNA Women. “She was always around during my training growing up. She’d send and fetch me, and that helped me get the rest I needed. Now that she has her own commitments, she still shows her support but can’t always be present, especially when my matches clash with her sessions.
Hamidah is familiar with Singapore’s female football stars, citing the likes of Putri Syaliza, now playing in the United States with the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies, Lion City Sailors’ Umairah Hamdan and Venetia Lim, and the Police Sports Association’s Kyra Taylor.
“I don’t watch the English Premier League. I wasn’t even following the Women’s World Cup. If the match happens to be on TV, I’ll watch it. I follow Singapore football – that’s it,” she shrugged.