A free soccer gala day for girls and women is taking place on Sunday 12 March in Mullumbimby. Coinciding with the football federation of Australia’s (FFA) female football week it is time to celebrate the great strides that female players have made in the sport.
The Mullumbimby Brunswick Valley Football Club (MBVFC) is excited about the success they have had in building their women’s and girls teams over the last few years.
‘Last year we established a fifth division female team that was made up of mostly 40+ women who had never kicked a football in their lives,’ said Sharon Scriven, MBVFC female football director.
‘We had so much fun. We didn’t win a game but it was such good fun that it has encouraged other women to get involved and we are starting up a second team this year.’
If you have never kicked a ball but are curious to give it a go or you are the next Becks then this is a chance to have a go at kicking a ball and seeing if you want to get involved. Regardless of age come along and get involved in the day.
‘I do find that this area is harder to get girls involved,’ said Scriven. ‘I used to live on the central coast and they had really strong female teams.’
‘We are quite successful at getting girls and women to join the MBVFC. We’ve seen major increase in teams since 2015. But it is an issue at a regional level. For example the under 12’s team wanted to move up but there was no under 13 or 14 competition and the under 15 was just too far ahead. They stayed in the under 12’s with a few other teams that were ready to move up but that wasn’t ideal. They were older and better than the younger teams so they were winning by a huge number of goals because the other teams are less experienced. It was because there weren’t enough teams in the region.’
Scriven is planning to engage with other clubs in the region to continue the success in this area of getting girls an women involved in the sport. ‘I’m trying to also create a network and increase female football across the region. Unfortunately some clubs have had to turn some girls away because they didn’t have enough girls to make a team.’
New mini roos
For the first time this year a girls mini roos team will be getting under way for 6 and up. These are fun non-competitive games that are lots of fun said Scriven. ‘Our club is very supportive of female football and it is all run by volunteers.’
The gala day is inviting all existing and aspiring female players to come along. All ages and levels of experience are welcome from absolute beginners to experienced players. There will be special guests, training drills, mini games and other fun activities on the day, all currently being carefully choreographed by MBVFC’s team of expert coaches.
Head down to Pine Avenue, Mullumbimby from 9am to 1pm on Sunday 12 March and join in the fun.
Ever wanted to coach?
A special training the coaches session is being held the day before the gala on on Saturday 11th March. ‘We have the mini roos development officer coming to run a training course for coaches. If you are interested in coaching, weather or not you have experience, are welcome to come and join the session,’ she said. Anyone from high school age and up are welcome to attend and they are particularly keen to get the girls involved. Contact the MBVFC for more information or book here.
‘Our new coach Naama Mayor has just finished her certification with the support of the club. She is great and is training the 11-16 year old girls.’
More women and girls are needed to get a great kick out of life when the Football Federation of Australia’s (FFA) female football week kicks off to celebrate how female players put their best foot forward.