Western Sydney Wanderers kick-off their Ninja A-League 2025-26 campaign on Friday night. At the heart of it is club’s investment in homegrown talent.
The Wanderers launched their women’s academy in 2025 and they have not looked back, with nine players from the newly-established program earning spots in the Ninja A-League team ahead of a Round 1 clash with Perth Glory.
In the words of Western Sydney, it is a “powerful statement of intent” as highly-rated 17-year-old trailblazer Nikkita Fazzari headlines the next generation emerging at Wanderland. She is the first signing from the club’s Girls Academy to the Ninja A-League team.
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Then there are fellow young guns Anika Stajcic, Siena Arrarte, Aimee Hall, Miriam Zumaya, Alvina Khoshaba, Amy Barker, goalkeeper Annabelle Croll – who captained the CommBank Junior Matildas recently, and 14-year-old sensation Frida Karaberis amid her rapid rise.
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“Each of these players represents a story of talent, ambition and determination. They are the first graduates of a pathway designed to connect the community fields of Western Sydney to the national stage of the Ninja A-League,” said the Wanderers.
“Their progression signals the start of an exciting journey for the Wanderers Girls Academy and sets the standard for the next generation of homegrown stars.
“When the Wanderers take the field for Round 1, they will do so with a team built not only on talent, but on local pride and purpose.
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“The first year of the Girls Academy has already delivered nine graduates to the senior ranks. Proof that the Wanderers’ future is not just bright, it is already shining.”
The club’s women’s academy are coming off an historic debut campaign, with Western Sydney competing in the NPL this season – a “proud milestone in the club’s growing commitment to women’s football”.
Geoff Abrahams has been instrumental in Western Sydney’s women’s space as not only their Ninja A-League head coach but youth technical director of the Wanderers Girls Academy. It is all part of his “mission”.
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A “whirlwind” inaugural campaign – put together in less than a month – for the Wanderers was capped by another historic feat after being named Football NSW Youth Club champions.
Their academy teams also enjoyed success across all age groups on the pitch – the Under-14s and U16s were crowned minor premiers, while the U15s and U18s finished the season as runners-up.
A total of 11 players earned international recognition through selection in junior national teams representing various countries, while 24 players also competed in the prestigious Emerging Matildas Tournament.
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“I’m excited because I watch them day in, day out. There’s a 14-year-old with us now in the A-League, there’s another 14-year-old that’s in our U23s now, that’s pretty special,” Abrahams told aleagues.com.au recently.
“I think it’s important to say, I think a lot of people will always say, look at what we’ve done with our players. I think all our players, there’s a lot of things that have gone into their development, and there’s a lot of different people who have had a little part of it. They go to sports schools. They’ve done private academies. We sort of took them in this year, right? And some of them we’ve had at Wander Women, and they’ve been in our environment.
“A few of them, years ago, came through our pre-academy into Wander Women, now into the academy. But there are a lot of people who have added to their development. I’m careful not to just say, look at what we’ve done. I guess we’ve just tried to facilitate an environment where they can get even better.
“That’s been what I’ve been really excited about, is that we’ve been able to progress girls really quickly, and in our environment, they’ve maybe accelerated and seeing some get national recognition.
“I reckon there’s a player or three in every single age group that I look at and go, right, she could be a Matilda. That’s pretty cool to be able to say it.
“It might not eventuate. It might be other players that end up progressing because development sort of goes in waves. But there’ll be players each year coming into the A-League, and that’ll start this year with Nikkita and a couple of other younger players.”
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