16 years later, 10 trophy-laden days show Aussie football’s future is here in the A-Leagues

In less than a fortnight, two of Australia’s national youth teams won international trophies. At the heart of those triumphs were Ninja A-Leagues stars, present and emerging. It bodes well for the future of the CommBank Matildas and the A-Leagues.

There was a familiar scene in Asia over the weekend: an Australian youth national team hoisting a trophy aloft.

The CommBank Junior Matildas were crowned 2025 ASEAN U16 Girls Championship winners thanks to their 1-0 win over defending champions Thailand on Saturday (AEST) – the country’s first such title since 2009.

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It came 10 days after Australia Under-23’s won the 2025 ASEAN Women’s Championship following a 17-year wait.

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Consistent across both recent international triumphs has been the Ninja A-League – a breeding ground of stars, present and emerging.

If we rewind less than a fortnight ago, the triumphant Aussie U23 side was completely made up of Ninja A-League-based stars.

The headline act was tournament MVP Holly Furphy of Melbourne Victory and her club teammate Alana Jancevski – the 2025 Rising Star.

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The starting XI for the final also featured 2024-25 Ninja A-League champion and MVP Isabel Gomez, who recently made her Matildas debut following a standout season in Gosford. The Grand Final triumph capped a fairytale week for Gomez, who in the space of seven days, scored a 121st-minute Semi-Final winner against unbeaten two-time reigning premiers Melbourne City, earned a Matildas call-up, scored a Grand Final goal and won the Championship in May.

Fast forward to the U16 ASEAN U16 Girls Championship and there Ninja A-League fingerprints too. Four A-Leagues prospects were involved on the road to the U16 trophy – Western Sydney Wanderers trio Mary Dal Broi, Annabelle Croll and Hayley Muir along with Melbourne Victory’s Leyla Hussein.

In fact, Croll was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament as Australia won the U16 tournament for the first time in 16 years.

On that day, Australia also topped Thailand, albeit by an 8-0 scoreline. A couple of future superstars emerged in that tournament – Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord both scored braces in that decider, while Emily Van Egmond was also on the scoresheet. That Matildas trio, along with Steph Catley, have gone on to shine on the global stage and spearhead a golden generation of women’s football.

Now, this current crop of emerging young guns are not only developing in front of our eyes but shining a light on the A-Leagues.

It is the birth place of Australian football’s next bloom. Be excited and head out to watch the next generation in action.

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