Women’s football to come to the fore during Female Football Week

Women’s football and the extensive impact women have at all levels of the game will take the spotlight during Female Football Week, which will encompass the Hyundai A-League’s split Round 23.
Female Football Week will be officially launched tomorrow night (7 March 2017) on the eve of International Women’s Day and recognise the immense growth of women’s football and the key roles women play in all aspects of the game.
Female Football Week will also have a number of official ambassadors to further drive the promotion and awareness of the contribution females make to football across Australia.
The ambassadors comprise of FFA CEO David Gallop, former Matilda, Partner, Gilbert+Tobin, AFC Executive Committee Member and FFA Board Member Moya Dodd, Westfield Matildas Head Coach Alen Stajcic, current Westfield Matildas Kyah Simon and Michelle Heyman, former Matilda Tal Karp and Brisbane Roar FC captain and Caltex Socceroo Matt McKay.
A key objective of Female Football Week to is to drive female participation, while also acknowledging the large number of women who are currently actively involved in the game in any capacity.
“Female participation makes up an integral part of football and why it is Australia’s largest club based participation sport,” said Gallop.
“Football has been a driving force in the advancement of women’s sport in Australia. With the Westfield W-League and the amazing success of our national women’s team, the Westfield Matildas, girls have a pathway to the world’s biggest sport and have heroes to emulate.”
On the field, women’s football is the fastest growing area of the sport and female participation continues to increase, particularly among girls under the age of 14.
The growth of women’s football is poised to continue moving ahead in leaps and bounds with the introduction of programs such as ‘Miniroos for Girls’ coupled with the increasing exposure of the Westfield W-League and Westfield Matildas.
“This is the second year Female Football Week has been run nationally and the amount of support and exposure it has received from all levels of the football community has been tremendous,” said FFA Head of Head of Community, Football Development and Women’s Football, Emma Highwood.
“There are so many women in our game who contribute, whether it be playing, coaching, volunteering, refereeing or supporting, and this initiative is a time to acknowledge them and spread the message of why football is such a great game for women and girls to get involved in as it’s all about fun and enjoying a healthy balanced lifestyle.”
Member Federations, associations and clubs, ranging from Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League clubs down to local grassroots clubs, will be involved in promoting Female Football Week in what has become an annual nationwide initiative.
Activities and events to be held throughout Female Football Week will include activations at Hyundai A-League Round 23 matches, female only football festivals, coaching and refereeing courses, the launch of ‘Miniroos for Girls’ kick-off programs, plus a host of ‘meet and greet’ signing opportunities with Westfield Matildas and Westfield W-League players.

Football NSW Activation
Event: 2017 #InspireConnectPlay Female Football Festival
Date: Thursday 9 March
Time: 9.30am-2pm
Where: Valentine Sports Park (235-237 Meurants Lane, Glenwood NSW 2768)
Price: FREE
Details: Providing opportunities for girls to connect with others from different communities, play team building and football games, and be inspired by role models.
Background
Australia has a large and diverse multi-cultural landscape within one in four Australian’s born overseas and one in two have an overseas-born parent. In the 2016 Outdoor season Football NSW had over 22,000 players born overseas representing 11% Male and 7% Female players born overseas. Furthermore, Australia is set to increase its intake of refugees to nearly 19,000 over the coming years. The purpose of the program is to provide football opportunities for various community groups such as Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and multicultural groups including refugees.
Barriers to Participation for CALD and Multi-cultural groups

• Cultural Barriers – low CALD diversity in many sport organisations
• Language barriers – communication
• Financial Barriers (Cost) – registration, transport, uniforms etc.
• Time Pressure – not enough time to participate or too many other commitments
• Community cultural barriers – sport not a priority in some communities.

Purpose
To celebrate Female Football Week and International Women’s Day, Football United and Creating Chances in partnership with Football NSW and Sydney FC, invites selected female program participants to take part in a day of fun team building and football activities. The purpose of the event is to provide opportunities for female participants of our programs, with an interest in sport (especially football) to CONNECT with girls from different communities, PLAY teambuilding games and football games, and BE INSPIRED by role models from Football United, Creating Chances, Football NSW and Sydney FC.
Football United and Creating Chances believes in the importance of providing opportunities for our youth to interact with inspiring female leaders, particularly on a day which celebrates the achievements of women. One of our core focus areas is women and girls’ empowerment through football with our Strong Women. Strong World initiative. We focus on building the capacity of young women from diverse communities with the skills required to navigate life effectively and contribute to the wider Australian community as agents of positive social change.
Football NSW has a clear vision to increase female participation in every Association across the state. Within Football NSW is exploring opportunities to increase female participation in the associations with the lowest female participation rates. This includes Southern Districts Soccer Football Association, Bankstown District Amateur Football Association and Granville & Districts Soccer Football Association. Football NSW wants to make football accessible to everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, ability level or background.
For more information contact: natasha@creatingchances.org.au