On Wednesday, before the final match of the Cup of Nations between the CommBank Matildas and Jamaica, we had the privilege to host a panel discussion about Women & Girls in Football.
Lisa Evans, Northern NSW Football Director; Kurt Fearnley AO, Paralympian & Football Australia Legacy 23' Ambassador; and Tom Hunter, Australian Sports Commission Participation Director, offered their insights regarding participation, inclusion, attraction, and overall experience of females in the game.
"We need more females on sidelines, being volunteers, encouraging to be part of it. Hats off to all those club and team managers and coaches, I have seen a lot of females doing it. We need more, we need that going…", Evans commented on opportunities for women in community clubs.
Kurt Fearnley AO, on the other hand, gave his opinion on how he will be using his voice as a Legacy '23 ambassador to advocate for meaningful change in the football environment, and quoted: "We need to make sure the participation in the sport is healthy, the volunteers feel like they are valued, the fields that we play on are well to be utilised…"
Finally, Tom Hunter was asked about the attraction and retention of female participants, and he said: "The environment is so important, especially when you have new participants. They want to get there and have a great time and feel welcomed. We think there are things some clubs haven't thought of, and we need to support them to improve these…"
The night concluded with a consensus of our three panellists predicting a victory from the CommBank Matildas to retain the Cup of Nations trophy.
