‘Matildas effect’ causes explosion in girls’ soccer in Victoria

Victorian girls hoping to follow in the famous footsteps of the Matildas superstars are taking up soccer in record numbers.

Sienna, Matilda, Leila, Talia and Izabella participate in the inaugural Dandy Cup. Picture: Tony Gough

The mighty Matildas have been credited with an unprecedented surge in girls signing up to play grassroots soccer in Victoria.

New figures show girls hoping to follow in the famous footsteps of the likes of Melbourne born-and-bred Matildas captain Steph Catley and superstar Mary Fowler are taking up the world game in record numbers.

Football Victoria expects to hit record women and girls registration numbers in 2024, surpassing last year’s tally of 17,845 outdoor football female participants.

As girl power grows, more than 4475 additional females have ­already signed up this season – a 25 per cent increase compared to the same time last year – but registrations are tipped to surge in coming weeks.

Matildas stars, such as Mary Fowler, are boosting soccer registration numbers for women and girls in 2024. Picture: Getty Images

Football Victoria chief executive Chris Pehlivanis said the Matildas effect was not confined to girls either, with an increase in men and boys playing soccer.

“Momentum in our game is at its highest and we’re thrilled to see a surge in our early registration numbers in line with this,” he said.

“Last year was a landmark year for female football, the Matildas have inspired so many to get involved in our game.

“And while we’re seeing growth across the board, we’re particularly pleased that there will be thousands of additional female participants in Victoria this year.”

Soccer centres say they are struggling to keep up with demand. Picture: Tony Gough

Soccer centres say they are struggling to keep up with demand as a new generation of players inspired by the Matildas’ heroics at last year’s Women’s World Cup take to the field.

Dandenong City is one of the fastest-growing clubs in Victoria and has seen female participation grow 64 per cent in the past year.

After having just 30 female participants in 2021, it now has more than 100 and growth of the female game inspired the club to stage a girls’ tournament at the weekend.

In its inaugural outing, the Dandy Cup attracted 52 teams and 650 players – the biggest grassroots female soccer event staged in Victoria.

Dandenong City junior girls has been ‘turbocharged’ by the Matildas. Picture: Tony Gough

Dandenong City junior girls co-ordinator Daniella Muretic said the club was “overwhelmed” by the response to an event “designed to be a celebration of women’s football”.

“It was a carnival atmosphere, and the next generation of Matildas are coming through,” she said. “We capped it at 52 teams. That’s all we could host on our three grounds over two days. But we could have had over 70.”

She said the club had been “turbocharged” by the Matildas. “We now have cracked 100 female players, which is a club record, and it would be closer to 150 if we could cope with the demand,” she said.

“We would love to register more female players, and we are working towards solutions with council and local MPs.”

Total Victorian soccer participation grew 9 per cent from 2022 levels to 355,180 players, according to Football Australia’s national participation ­report 2023.

Originally published as ‘Matildas effect’ causes explosion in girls’ soccer in Victoria