First for female football: Sydney FC launches inaugural junior Female Football Festival in Kiama
In a first for female football in NSW, Sydney FC successfully launched the inaugural Female Football Festival today, inviting young players from all over the state to participate and meet professional players.
Illawarra Star
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The inaugural Female Football Festival kicked off successfully today, with over 300 young female footballers descending on Kiama for the exciting new event.
The event was announced in January by Sydney FC, taking place across two days at Kiama Sport Complex.
Present at the event were a number of Sydney FC A-League Women stars, including Kiwi international Anna Green, as well as emerging youth internationals Tahlia Franco, Mary Stanic-Floody and local Shellharbour sisters Indiana and Jynaya Dos Santos.
“I think it’s really awesome to see Sydney FC prioritising women’s football and to be getting behind this,” said Anna Green.
“I think it’s a big challenge for A-League teams to make sure they’re getting out and about in communities, particularly in the women’s space.
“I would love to see all clubs do something like this, but it’s a really great initiative from Sydney FC and I’m really happy to see so many girls out here participating.”
The timeliness of the Festival is ideal with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 on the horizon, with New Zealand-born Green having allegiances to both host countries.
“When we talk about the importance of a World Cup, this is what it means, it’s about seeing more girls out playing football,” Green said.
“These girls are clearly already unreal football players and fans of the game, so hopefully this energises them to come out and attend matches whether it be Matildas matches or any other games.”
For Indiana and Jynaya Dos Santos, it was a feel-good moment seeing an event like this take place so close to home.
Both sisters played for Shellharbour Junior Football Club in their junior days, with Indiana recently becoming the youngest debutant for the Sky Blue side.
“We played not too far from here, so it’s great to see so many girls and teams coming here, we had nothing this big when we were growing up,” Indiana said.
“Small things add up, it’s great to see the growth of the sport and how many girls are here today,” Jynaya said.
The event kicked off today to the delight of all involved, with 7-a-side mini matches taking place all day in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.
Participating girls travelled from all over NSW, ranging from Wakehurst on the Northern Beaches, to Fairfield and Maroubra in Sydney, as well as more local teams such as Gerringong and Kiama.
There were autograph opportunities for the players and a chance to meet the Sydney FC Women stars.
Sydney FC are hoping the success of this year’s event will allow them to make the Festival an annual event, getting bigger and better each year.
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