Leah Blayney appointed Westfield Young Matildas and Future Matildas Head Coach
Football Federation Australia (FFA) is pleased to announce that former Westfield Matilda and Football NSW Institute’s Leah Blayney has been promoted to Head Coach of both the Westfield Young Matildas and Future Matildas program.
Blayney, who represented Australia in 16 ‘A’ international matches between 2004 and 2006, has been working as an Assistant Coach with the Westfield Young Matildas over the past three years.
During the same period Blayney, who played professionally in Australia, the United States, and Sweden throughout her career, has served as a second assistant with the Westfield Matildas as part of the FFA Female Coach Mentor Program, and fulfilled lead scout roles for Australia at both the Rio Olympics and the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
The Katoomba-born coach has also worked as Head Coach of Football New South Wales’ NTC team, and guided an Australia under-23 selection at last year’s AFF Women’s Championship held in Palembang, Indonesia.
FFA Chief Executive Officer, David Gallop AM, said Blayney is deserving of the opportunity to step up into the position vacated by Gary van Egmond’s transition to the Young Socceroos.
“Leah (Blayney) is one of Australia’s leading young female coaches,” Gallop said. “She has worked diligently over the past three years to earn the chance to lead the Young and Future Matildas programs which serve as an important bridge to the senior Matildas squad.”
“As a former player at both youth and senior level, Leah has a wealth of experience to share with aspiring players. We are confident that Leah’s connection to the players plus her developing coaching expertise will help her to succeed in this position.”
Blayney will use the next few months to prepare some of Australia’s best young female footballers for the challenges that await them at the forthcoming 2019 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship in Thailand.
The Westfield Young Matildas will take on DPR Korea, hosts Thailand, and Vietnam in Group A of the competition, and will need to finish in the top two in their pool to earn the chance to progress to next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
“I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to taking on both roles,” Blayney said.
“Our Young Matildas and Future Matildas programs are an extra layer to support our senior women’s national team, and I very much look forward to continuing to create a nurturing, supportive, and professional environment that will continue to set a high standard for these players.”
