Football: Ferns balancing academic demands

Jasmine Pereira is balancing academic and sporting pursuits at the World Cup. Photo / Getty

When Jasmine Pereira ran on to the Commonwealth Stadium turf as a substitute for the Football Ferns against the Netherlands, it was only the first test facing the striker at the Women's World Cup.

The 18-year-old is balancing academic and sporting pursuits, with the psychology major facing a looming exam as part of the arts degree she is studying towards at Massey University.

It's an increasingly common challenge for the Football Ferns - albeit a welcome one - since High Performance Sport began supporting their programme after the Beijing Olympics.

Eighteen of the 23-women squad have received a Prime Minister's Athlete Scholarship from HPSNZ, and Pereira is one of four players who have at least one exam while at the World Cup.

It meant she spent Monday afternoon swotting for an exam in her psychology as a natural science paper, but Pereira said that was just part of Football Ferns life.

"It's quite hard because we do so much work off the field with the football - analysing games, checking stats, etc - so it's hard to balance that, the training and my study," said Pereira. "But it's just something that's got to be done, and it's a good way to get away from football sometimes."

The awarding of a PM scholarship solved a dilemma for Pereira, who was looking towards university in the United States but wanted to remain in New Zealand and stake a claim a place in the national team after impressing at age group levels. It's also allowed her to tap into the auxiliary support services provided by HPSNZ.

"It's made it a lot easier on my family because I wanted to stay in New Zealand and I wanted to be a Football Fern."

And of her first taste of a World Cup, Pereira said she remained relaxed on the bench but ready if and when her opportunity came.

"Going into that game, I saw the starting line-up and started to prepare myself for what my role might be. As soon as I get that call, I flick the switch and I'm ready."

The Football Ferns resume their campaign on Friday (NZT) against hosts Canada.