To celebrate Female Football February, we will be highlighting stories from our community that showcase the pathways and participation opportunities that exist for women and girls within football.
Today, Sarah from Collingwood City FC speaks about the growth of the Club’s women & girls program and the success of hosting ‘Bring a Friend Days’.
At Collingwood City, we established a girls-only program in 2013 and entered our first competitive girls team in Season 2014.
Our Club has invested heavily to provide a female program that is inclusive and welcoming, with the same access to resources as any other team at Collingwood City. This means every team has two coaches, with an emphasis on trying to ensure at least one of those coaches is female.
The girls teams have a dedicated training night where they all train together across two high quality pitches – which they have all to themselves. The program follows the same structure as the boys, but is slightly tailored and overseen by our Technical Directors.
The girls at Collingwood City FC enjoy female friendly facilities which were designed with the assistance gained from the Victorian State Government. These facilities include two brand new female friendly change rooms.
To continue the growth of our female program, the Club regularly runs ‘Come and Try’ sessions. These sessions are free for all girls, and we encourage all of our players to ‘bring a friend’ to training.
The first session Bring a Friend session took place in 2019 and we were totally overwhelmed with the response! More than 100 girls attended!
Despite the heat, the girls had a fantastic time, with plenty of Zooper Doopers and cold drinks to keep them cool. Plus, the parents were able to enjoy cheese and nibbles!
We thank Football Victoria’s Karen Pearce, who attended the event and has provided ongoing commitment to female football, in particular her dedication to the achieving 50-50 gender parity by 2027.
Each year we love to align Female Football Week with special gala days which involve nights of fun and games, music, dress-ups and even activities to get parents involved.
Through the success of our Bring a Friend Days and other initiatives, our female program has steadily grown. Today, we have two Senior Women’s sides and over 120 registered female players.
Our Club has a predominantly female board, including a female President who attended Football Victoria’s Women in Leadership Program and the Female President Boardroom School.
Our Technical Directors are also committed to ensuring we continue to mentor female coaches. Role models are an imperative part of development and we will continue to strive to provide all of our junior players with strong female role models.
If you're interested in coaching, learn how you can get involved at www.playfootball.com.au