Matildas great Clare Polkinghorne to have $7.5m football centre named after her

Matildas legend Clare Polkinghorne’s legacy will include a multimillion-dollar football centre named in her honour.

Retired legend Clare Polkinghorne says it’s vital the new Matildas coach continues to give emerging stars opportunities to shine to ensure the ongoing strength of the national women’s team.

The most capped Matilda in history, Polkinghorne, 35, made her 169th and final appearance for Australia in a 6-0 weekend thrashing of Chinese Taipei in Geelong.

One of the biggest thrills of the occasion for the veteran defender was that she was part of a team that included a host of younger players, and several from the A-League who had been brought into the squad by interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni.

In the build-up to the two-game series against Chinese Taipei, Sermanni seemed to take a swipe at previous Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson, suggesting there had a been a lack of “planning for the future” in not giving young and fringe players enough chances.

Passing the b𝟰ton 👕4️⃣

From Di Alagich to Clare Polkinghorne and now to Clare Hunt, Polks passes on the iconic number 4 jersey to Hunt.#Matildaspic.twitter.com/Kr6hOVoIHf

— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) December 8, 2024

Polkinghorne was adamant that the next generation of Matildas talent needed to be “nurtured”.

“One of the really exciting things from the previous camp was all the young players that came in and got their opportunity to play and to experience the top level,” she said.

“That’s definitely going to be key for us, to make sure that we do nurture those players and keep exposing them to the highest level of football and those sorts of environments.

“It’s been a good environment (under Sermanni).”

Polkinghorne was happy with Football Australia being seemingly not in a rush to choose Gustavsson’s permanent successor despite some calls from an appointment to be made ahead of the Matildas’ participation in February’s four-nation She Believes Cup in the USA.

“That’s something that they (FA) are working through. I don’t think they’ll rush into a decision because it’s going to be a really important time to get the right person in,” she said.

Polkinghorne is set to embark on her own coaching career next month when she returns to Sweden, where she has played since 2021.

She would not reveal which Swedish team she would be coaching at but confirmed it would not be Kristianstads DFF, were she ended her club career.

Clare Polkinghorne acknowledges Matildas fans after her final appearance for Australia. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Polkinghorne also flagged a future interest in becoming involved with the Matildas in a coaching capacity.

“Hopefully, but that’s a long way off at this stage, but it’s a team that means a lot to me, so that’s definitely always something that I’ll be thinking about,” she said.

Queenslander Polkinghorne’s stellar career has been honoured in Brisbane, where a new $7.5m football centre has been named after her.

Construction on the Clare Polkinghorne Football Centre at NPL Queensland outfit Wynnum Wolves – her first junior club – starts early next year.

“It’s a massive honour and it’s really exciting to see the growth and the development of the club,” she said on Wednesday.

“It’s a club that has a special place in my heart. It’s where I began playing football.”

Wolves president Rabieh Krayem said: “We are proud that Clare started her junior football career at our club and are even prouder to honour her stellar career and her significant contribution to the female game in this country by putting her name on our new building at a time when female football is booming at Wynnum.

“Clare had to move on from our club as a junior due to the lack of playing options for girls at the time, (but) we can safely say that is no longer at issue at our club, with our female numbers and programs now booming.”

Originally published as Matildas great Clare Polkinghorne to have $7.5m football centre named after her