Ivanhoe’s Hannah Slaughter heads to Cambodia to give women’s footy a kickalong

Ivanhoe defender Hannah Slaughter is heading back to Cambodia to continue teaching and growing women’s footy in South-East Asia

Hannah Slaughter, who is heading back to Cambodia, belts out the club song with her Ivies teammates Picture: Alistair Knox

Hannah Slaughter has packed away her Ivanhoe jumper after playing her final game for the club.

But the defender, who’s been an important member of the Ivies’ VAFA campaigns over the past two seasons, will not be lost to football.

Slaughter, returning to Cambodia on a two-year teaching stint, helped establish a women’s team in the capital, Phnom Penh, in 2016.

The Cambodian Apsaras AFLW team, the sister club of the Cambodian Eagles men’s club, was one of four national women’s teams to play in the Asian Championships in Malaysia last year. Most of the team were Khmer women.

“When I first moved to Cambodia in 2016 I had contacted the well established men’s AFL club the Cambodian Eagles,” Slaughter said.

“At that point there was no women’s footy in Asia. So we put the call out and on our first training session we had upwards of 25 local Cambodian girls attend.

MORE FOOTY NEWS

FIRST YEAR FOOTBALLER AT 51

VESCIO READY TO MAKE MIDFIELD MOVE

DEES GREAT SLAMS VFL HOME AS ‘COW PADDOCK’

Hannah Slaughter’s Cambodian team: the Cambodian Apsaras

“We are the leading country in AFL Asia when it comes to local development; with the majority of our club sponsorships and fundraising going towards buying passports and funding international trips for the Cambodian players who otherwise would not be able to afford it.

“We are now in our third season and there are now eight countries, with more joining every few months, as part of AFLW Asia.

“We have the AFL Asian Championships coming on August 31 in Thailand. The men’s comp has a long and fruitful history in Asia, and we are lucky that the men’s division have opened their doors to establish sister teams in almost all countries competing across Asia.”

WHAT A LEADER LOCAL FOOTY SUBSCRIPTION GIVES YOU ACCESS TO

— Match reports, features, player and coach movements and analysis of all the leagues across Melbourne.

— Unprecedented AFL coverage.

— All the latest football news from across the country including Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail.

— Latest news and videos from the world’s leading leagues.

— Exclusive digital stories and videos before they go to print.

Hannah Slaughter gets a kick away in her last game Picture: Alistair Knox