Before the FIFA Women’s World Cup had even kicked off, over 120 Under-8 to U12 girls from the Illawarra were well in the grip of World Cup fever, taking part in Football South Coast’s Girls Mini World Cup winter holiday clinic earlier this month.
Across the two World Cup-inspired competitions – first with U8 and U9 players on July 4, then with U12 and U13 players on July 6 – teams of seven-a-side were given the chance to compete for glory while representing different nations.
“It was really good. It was the first time we've been able to run something girls only,” Football South Coast CEO Ann-Marie Balliana said.
“We've tried to run a girls-only-type program like that in the past and didn't quite get the numbers, but these school holidays we thought we'd run it right before the World Cup to see what sort of take up we'd get.
“The teams had a really good, really fun day out representing a different country… and the feedback we got was it was a great concept and [they’re] wanting to do it again in the next round of holidays as well.”
The United States emerged victorious at the U8 and U9’s Girls Mini World Cup comp, while a penalty shootout between Japan and Brazil at the U12 and U13's comp saw Japan nab the win.
Ultimately, the idea behind the winter holiday clinic was to promote an admiration for the sport among a growing base of young girls.
“I think football is a sport where it's skilful, it's safe and it's simple,” Ann-Marie said. “It's a good sport for any gender and any ability, and I think that's the real attraction in the sport.”
“Kids in particular [are] inspired by what they see on the TV, they want to replicate what they're seeing, so when you look at the success of teams like the Matildas over the last five to 10 years, I think that's probably inspired a lot of females and juniors in particular to try the game.
“Now you can start as an under-six and progress to some great competitions, and that may not have been the case a number of years ago, but there's a real pathway now for female football players in particular.
“You can play with your grassroots club and now we’ve got girls-only competitions from under-six all the way through to all-age women.
"Football South Coast runs junior development programs for females only. You've also got at a state level Football New South Wales’s competition [for] girls that are really keen to play against the best in the state.”
The Helensburgh Thistles U8 girls’ side was among the six Illawarra clubs competing on July 4. It marked the first of a number of Women’s World Cup celebrations for the team who have been eager to cheer on Australia’s Matildas.
“Our under-eight girls… they are just absolutely soccer-obsessed at the moment,” Junior Thistles Committee president Gill Lehn said.
“[The World Cup is] so exciting. We've got a few things planned.
“We're doing a World Cup-themed disco for the kids [on] Friday the 4th of August…
"We'll invite the girls’ teams to come to the clubhouse to watch the games in the clubhouse as a group.
“If we get to the final, I would love to get a freaking big projector and have the whole thing on the field… but that's just wishful thinking. Fingers crossed.”
They're not the only ones, with the World Cup expected to boost participation among girls significantly.
"I think it will increase participation at a grassroots level, but I also think that it may inspire more girls to get more involved in some of these representative pathways to get better, to see how far they can progress in the game and potentially… replicate what players like Caitlin Foord are doing and making a career out of it," Ann-Marie said.
