Mackay Lions alive in Kappa Cup, will face Gladstone-based Central FC in the round of 16
A Mackay football team will represent the region in a knockout final on Saturday, with the side facing a Gladstone team on Saturday
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The entire Mackay football fanbase will be behind the Lions women as they prepare to face Central FC in the Kappa Cup.
Mackay Lions remain one of the final 16, and the last Mackay-based side, in the competition that initially had 128 teams enter the inaugural tournament.
The Lions will face the currently undefeated Central FC in the Central Queensland Premier League this season.
Lions president Ashlee Nolan said the club was excited to represent the Mackay region.
“The girls side has gone undefeated in the local competition for the last four years, so they were all pretty stoked when the statewide tournament was announced,” Nolan said.
Football Australia announced the introduction of the Kappa Cup after Australia and New Zealand won the joint bid of hosting the FIFA women’s World Cup in 2023.
Nolan said the promotion of women’s sport was fantastic for grassroots football.
“The girls have had their spirits lifted a lot because it’s been pretty hard not having a competition for women’s when there’s the FFA for the men,” she said.
“It’s been great that Football Queensland have really gotten behind it and introduced the Kappa Cup to really push women’s sports.”
Coach Pino Giannangelo said the side was ready for the match.
“We’ve been a bit up and down recently, but we’re still finding ways to win games which is a positive,” he said.
“You can’t really pick a player that stands out in the team at the moment, everyone’s playing well at the moment.”
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If the Lions win their contest, they will travel to Townsville before potentially travelling to Brisbane for the semi finals.
Despite being one of the last teams in the tournament, Giannangelo said the side wasn’t taking the competition for granted.
“We’re privileged to be here, the girls are pretty excited to play another team from out of town,” he said.
“We just want to play one game at a time and see how we go, if we play our game we should be okay.”
The Lions will host the contest on Saturday, June 5, at 6pm at Lions Field, and the match will be free entry for patrons.
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Originally published as Mackay Lions alive in Kappa Cup, will face Gladstone-based Central FC in the round of 16
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