North West Sydney Football Association is born
At a historic meeting on Thursday the 18th July, members of the Gladesville Hornsby Football Association and North West Sydney Women’s Football Association passed resolutions which saw both parties merge to form North West Sydney Football Ltd.
With a projected combined playing membership of over 15,500, NWSF is set to become one of the largest Associations in NSW.
GHFA (originally called the Hornsby-Epping Soccer Football Association), had its origins in 1952.
In 1956, the Association changed its name to Northern District Football Association to accommodate the teams joining from beyond the geographical boundaries of Hornsby to Epping.
The growth was so rapid to the south that in 1959 it was necessary to again change the name to the current day Gladesville Hornsby Football Association.
Since those early days, GHFA has grown to its current 30 clubs and 12,400 members.
GHFA is a mixed competition with girls and boys playing together in ALDI MiniRoos and in junior age groups.
GHFA also supports a representative program through GHFA Spirit FC which has teams in the Men’s NPL2, NPL Youth, SAP and AYL competitions.
NWSWF (originally called Gladesville-Hornsby Women’s Soccer Association (GHWSA)) was formed in 1981.
Clubs in that area had played in the Ku-ring-gai competition for the previous eight years as there was no local women’s competition.
The Association’s name was changed to NWSWF in 2000 to more accurately reflect its player distribution.
At that time, NWSWF had 23 teams but has now grown to 103 ALDI MiniRoos teams, 61 Junior teams and 68 Senior teams.
The NWS Koalas have teams in the NPL NSW Women’s competition and SAP.
NWSWF also runs an all abilities program called PINK (PLAY, INTERACT, NETWORK, KICK).
GHFA General Manager, Mark Lockie was delighted with the amalgamation news.
“The GHFA Board were thrilled with the overwhelming support of the clubs for the merger.
“With 22 of the 28 NWSWF member-clubs also being member-clubs of GHFA, there were good reasons for the two Associations to merge.”
He said the new Association will simplify administration for their member-clubs and volunteers and provide greater resources for the development of all forms of football, including women’s competitions.
North West Sydney Women’s General Manager Denise Robinson was extremely pleased by the unanimous support from the clubs and was excited about the future.
“It was a great moment for the sport of football to have gotten this merger through thanks to the support of many who want to see the round ball game continue to grow.
“We were extremely happy with the outcome and can cannot wait to commence our push forward not only developing the women’s game but the game in general within what is a football mad area.”
Football NSW CEO Stuart Hodge praised both Associations on all their hard work and efforts in getting this merger off the ground.
“Football NSW congratulates the Boards and management of both Associations on the work they have done so far to bring two of our key stakeholders together.
“We are all about unifying the code as one in ensuring the sport of football continues to grow and develop in a positive direction.”
NWSWF Board member, Tracey Williams (LEFT) and GHFA Chair Helen Armson
