To celebrate our GO Soccer Mums community, we're gathering stories from participants and sharing one per month with our wider football family, this month we are highlighting the first-ever FV Women & Girls Extravaganza.
Football Victoria (FV) was able to capitalise on the success of the Commbank Matildas at the FIFA Women's World Cup™ by hosting the first-ever Women & Girls Extravaganza at The Home of the Matildas – La Trobe University, Bundoora on Saturday, September 2.
The event was a celebration of female football with football-based programs for people of all ages, skill levels, and abilities.
FV Women & Girls Project Manager Natalie Pafralis said the participation in the event was “way more” than FV ever could have expected.
“We had the GO Soccer Mums Cup which had a remarkable 170 players across 14 teams, it was great to see so many new faces for women and girls in football,” she said.
"Although our motto of the day is to have fun and give it a go, we would like to share a big congratulations to Melton Phoenix FC who were the winners of the GO Soccer Mums Cup, which went into extra time!"
As part of the day, Football Australian ran free MiniRoos Come and Try sessions, which is an introductory program designed for beginning and developing players aged 5-10.
In addition to the GO Soccer Mums Cup, Darebin Women’s Football Club, and Darebin United Soccer Club held GO Soccer Mums Come and Try Sessions throughout the day.
The two sessions were fully booked and many of the participants were experiencing football for the first time. This aligns with the ethos of the program as it is designed for women to experience, learn, and practice football in an inclusive, fun, beginner-friendly environment.
Girls aged 12-16 were also able to enjoy social football through FV’s GO Girls program with Azaad Club Melbourne, Thornbury Athletic Football Club, and Keon Park Football Club all running GO Girls Come and Try Sessions on the day. Two of the sessions ran at full capacity and participants were able to join a free cooking masterclass with 400 Gradi.