More Women Embrace ‘The Beautiful Game’
Recently, the Roy Morgan Research released figures showing that over the last 12 months football (soccer) has overtaken swimming as the most popular sporting activity among Australian kids with one in two children aged 6 – 13 now playing football.
Furthermore the latest Roy Morgan findings show that more girls are playing football (soccer) than netball.
From grassroots level to the elite level girls and women are taking up the beautiful game in record numbers.
The establishment of the W-League and the success of the Matildas at the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada have showcased quality women’s football and shown the depth of the Women’s game.
In 1981 North West Sydney Women’s Football was established as a Women’s only Association.
From small beginnings NWSWF has provided an introduction to the game providing competitions for girls and women at all levels.
Despite the growth in popularity; demand has meant that resources for clubs in terms of training and playing facilities have not kept up.
Even at the elite level the NWS Koalas (who field teams in the top tier PlayStation 4 NPL NSW Women’s) are still lobbying for allocation of training grounds.
The North West Sydney Koalas has provided a pathway for elite players since it was established in 1999 with many players moving from local junior teams to representative level including international representative footballers Ellyse Perry, Rachael Doyle, Alisha Bass, Chloe Logarzo, Lizzie Durack and Natalie Tobin.
The growth has also allowed for the implementation through NWSWF and the Koalas of a Skills Acquisition (SAP) program for under 12 year old girls.
The program will focus on player skills development and game appreciation through practice of functional skills based on the FFA Coaching curriculum and managed by Sandra Awondatu – Technical Director NWSWF Koalas with support from a team of experienced FFA licensed coaches.
The program this year will offer training twice a week and a game every third week.
Importantly Squad members will still play and participate in their respective club teams.
This is a great opportunity for players to improve and maximise their potential with a defined pathway to play representative football.
-NWS Koalas Media Release
