The CommBank Junior Matildas spent five days in Cairns last week as they continued their preparations for the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup Indonesia 2024™.
As part of their time in Cairns, on Saturday, 27 April, twelve members of the team designed and held a community coaching session for girls aged 8 - 13 years old from Cairns First Nations, refugee and migrant communities.
Winger Danella Butrus, from Victoria, was one of the players involved.
"It just felt really good to see them participate in something like this and inspire them," she said.
"It meant the world to me because I was able to show them that no matter where you start, or where you come from, with some hard work anything is possible."
Butrus knows about the challenges that come from being a migrant in a new country. In 2013, she and her family arrived in Australia after fleeing from Iraq - where she was born - and then Syria, due to ongoing conflict.
"If I'm being completely honest, it was a little bit difficult trying to learn a second language, going to school and trying to make friends with other girls who have been here since they were born," she explained when describing her experience when first arriving in Australia.
"Football helped me because even though my English wasn't great, football united us and I made some bonds that I still have to this day."
She was able to connect with those she was coaching by using her lived experience.
"It was easy to connect with them because I was in their shoes once," she said. "Trying to explain things properly to them [to help them understand] was really good, because that's what I needed when I was younger.
"Some of them didn't know the language, so showing them what to do, made it much easier."
The coaching session was an important reminder for Danella and her teammates of the importance of football, both to them and the community.
"Everyone involved had so much fun and it reminded us why we all started [playing] and love the sport so much," she said. "It was special because we got to inspire the next generation and show them it's possible to make it. It is important because it unites as all as one.
"Everyone had so much fun today. I felt like I was giving back to people, who are in the same situation I was. It was a really great experience. I'd do it again ten million times!"
Fans can follow the CommBank Junior Matildas AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup Indonesia 2024™ on Football Australia's Facebook, Instagram and X social media accounts.
MATCH SCHEDULE | GROUP B | GROUP STAGE
China PR v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Kick-off: 4.00pm (local) / 6.00pm AEST
Venue: Bali United Training Center, Bali
Australia v Japan
Date: Friday, 10 May 2024
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local) / 9.00pm AEST
Venue: Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Bali
Australia v Thailand
Date: Monday, 13 May 2024
Kick-off: 4.00pm (local) / 6.00pm AEST
Venue: Bali United Training Center, Bali
