Junior sport: More girls are choosing soccer instead of netball

SOCCER organisations are infiltrating schools and running targeted campaigns to get girls to choose football boots over netball bibs.

Friends Cassie Hill 6 and Rosie Ferguson 6. Cassie starts netball this year while her friend Rosie starts soccer. Pic Nathan Edwards

SOCCER has won the battle of the round ball. And it isn’t finished scoring goals against netball just yet.

Targeted school campaigns to encourage young girls to choose boots over bibs have helped soccer become the most popular girls sport in Australia.

Football NSW last year recorded the biggest increase in girls aged four to 11 signing up to clubs across the state.

About 18,000 female miniroos took to the soccer field — a rise of 11 per cent on 2014 figures. Market research company Roy Morgan last year found 39 per cent of girls were playing soccer compared to 37 per cent playing netball.

Football NSW chief executive Eddie Moore said “the Matilda effect” — a reference to the success of the national women’s team — was helping them.

“The profile of the Matildas (the national women’s team) has been a significant help with their recent success at the World Cup and qualifying for the Rio Olympics,” he said.

Netball NSW boss Carolyn Campbell said the sport had 75,000 girls aged 14 and under playing in 10,500 clubs last year: “That’s an increase on previous years.’’

For six-year-old Rosie Ferguson choosing to start with Wauchope’s soccer club was an easy choice given brother Charlie, 8, is already with the club. However Rosie’s friend, Cassie Hill, 5, had her heart set on playing with Wauchope’s netball club.

“Cassie’s been really enjoying herself, she’s loving being part of a team,” her mum Deb said.

Originally published as Junior sport: More girls are choosing soccer instead of netball