By Yara Yaish

RAMALLAH, May 31, 2011 (WAFA) – Former US soccer player and current coach Sari Rose Tuesday said the media can play an important and essential role in promoting women sports.

She said during a meeting with Palestinian journalists in Ramallah that the media can encourage women sports by properly introducing it to the society at large.

She said newspapers and sports magazines can play a significant role in explaining the hidden reality of women sports through the focus on female players and clubs’ achievements.

The American sports media, said Rose, was absent until the US had hosted the World Cup in 1994, stressing that it was one of the main reasons for the emergence of women clubs.

She said that a few years ago sports coverage used to concentrate on male sport activities, especially American football and baseball, saying that the media and the internet development contributed to defining female sports.

The U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, which hosted Rose’s trip to the Palestinian Territory, said in a statement that Rose’s visit is part of an educational and cultural exchange program that focuses on women’s health and sports.

During her visit, Rose will work with the Palestinian Soccer Federation, where she will conduct training sessions for coaches, as well as training sessions with 35 girls at the Frere school in Jerusalem. She will also attend matches between girls’ soccer teams, and conduct a workshop with summer camp leaders.

Sari Rose is a premier athlete who played on a highly-ranked Wake Forest University team from 1994-1998, before moving on to play professional soccer for the Philadelphia Frenzy. She coached several university-level soccer teams in the U.S.

Currently she is the Director of Coaching for the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association, and responsible for coaching education and Olympic development.

Y.Y./M.A.