Football Federation Australia, the Member Federations, Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League clubs will come together this week to celebrate the outstanding contribution that women and girls make to football in Australia.
Starting today, International Women’s Day, female football will be the focus of a wide range of activities, with rebel Female Football Week being celebrated by seven Member Federations, running until 15 March.
This nationwide initiative celebrates the immense growth of women’s football at all levels of the game and acknowledges and promotes the important role women play in developing football.
The annual rebel Female Football Awards will be held on Friday 13 March to recognise outstanding achievements by female players, officials, volunteers and administrators within football.
This leads to rebel Female Football Round, which coincides with Round 23 of the Hyundai A-League and week 1 of the Westfield W-League 2020 Finals Series.
FFA Chief Executive James Johnson is proud that the Australian Football community celebrates the role Women and Girls have made to the sport, he said “We are committed to providing opportunities for all within our sport and as we join the world in celebrating International Women’s Day, we recognise that Australian Football is in a unique position to be able to champion the message of gender equality both locally and abroad.
“The landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement agreed in November last year is an example of how Australian Football has positioned itself as a world-leader.
“Our female participation numbers continue to grow year on year at all levels of the game and our challenge is to maintain this growth with the goal of having equal levels of female to male participation in the future. Women’s football represents one of the biggest areas for potential growth in Australian football and with the possibility of hosting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we have more than enough impetus to renew our focus in this area.
“The rebel Female Football Round is an example of our ongoing commitment to ensure more women and girls have opportunities to access our sport. We are excited to be celebrating this week with our Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League clubs and look forward to working further with them, our Women’s Council and other key actors in this space,” concluded Johnson.
FFA’s Head of Leagues, Greg O’Rourke is also excited that FFA and the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League clubs will once again celebrate rebel Female Football Round together.
“rebel Female Football Round is a great opportunity for our clubs to showcase the positive impact that women have made to the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League competitions,” said O’Rourke.
“Our clubs will be conducting many activations over this round to raise the profile of Women’s Football in their local regions.
“It is also appropriate that rebel Female Football Round this year also coincides with the first week of the Westfield W-League 2020 Finals Series which will feature the top female footballers in club football in Australia,” concluded O’Rourke.
Gary Williams, rebel’s Managing Director, was also proud that rebel continues to support Female Football in Australia.
“rebel proudly continues to invest in and support female football in Australia. We, and our partners, aspire to lift the profile of female stars today to inspire the stars of tomorrow to chase their sporting dreams and passion.” said Williams.
“On International Women’s Day and every day, through sport, we have the opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against bias, and take action for equality” concluded Williams.
Rebel’s female athlete mentor program seeks to identify and reward a young female athlete with a tailored professional development program aimed at teaching and evolving that athlete on and off the field. So far, rebel has seen promising young athletes from the Westfield W-League, AFL Women’s League, the NRL, Netball Australia and the WBBL, which have completed the program.
During this week, all clubs will be engaging in their local communities to raise the profile of women’s football through different events, giveaways and workshops. Football Victoria and Football NSW will host their rebel Female Football Week from 1-10 May 2020.
For more information regarding these events please visit ffa.com.au, a-league.com.au and w-league.com.au.
