Not every player who takes to the pitch on the weekend dreams of pulling on the green and gold and scoring for Australia. But when they do, it’s important that the path from Coles MiniRoos to the CommBank Matildas or Socceroos is clear.
And for Alamein FC, strengthening the pathways in women’s football isn’t just about producing Matildas, it’s about club culture.
Since its establishment in 2015, Alamein have promoted themselves as a leading force in female player development, offering a clear pathway from junior to senior elite levels.
11-years later, Alamein are currently Victoria’s only all-female football club competing across every age group in junior competitions and Senior NPLW.
We spoke with Club Vice President Naomi Bulger, whose passion for the club and its people is truly infectious.
“Alamein is such a special club. It’s been part of the NPLW since the very beginning, and it’s the only all-female club that offers a full NPLW pathway from junior to seniors. This gives us a real responsibility to help grow the women’s game - not just within our club, but beyond it.
“Across Australia there’s a huge focus on participation in girls’ football, which is fantastic to see. But that’s just a start.
“Alamein is equally focused on girls’ development and long-term involvement. We want girls to stay in the game, to keep loving it, and to see what’s possible if they want to go further, whether that’s as players, coaches or leaders.”
To help with that development, the club recently launched a buddy program which sees each of their NPLW and Under 20s players mentor the junior players.
We thought there was no better person to tell us about the power of the program and the effects it’s already having than senior team player Neve Duston.
“The buddy program is basically pairing some of our youth players with senior players, showing them the ropes of how to progress in your soccer, how to take care of your body, how to have strong moral values and forming partnerships with girls.
“We didn't have a senior side at my club growing up: American soccer looked different. When I got to college, I had older women on my team that I looked up to. For them to give me the support and the nurturing that I needed to progress and to know that there's a future in the sport made a huge difference for me."
With its cohesive club structure and high-level play across all age groups, Alamein has become known as one of the top clubs for young players to join who have aspirations of getting the most out of their football.
Club Technical Director Liam Kafka-Sweeney says understanding what the players want to achieve is helping the club build programs where every player feels seen.
“We certainly have a lot of aspirational players at the club... we speak regularly with the majority of our players around what they want to get out of their football, whether that's playing long term for the Matildas or abroad to use soccer as part of their college aspirations.
“It's been great to see that not only can we support players at the highest level, but with our new Academy programs, we're also able to support players who just want to get the most that they can out of their soccer. I certainly think this does land us as a destination club for women and girls.”
The club remains committed to its culture and has no plans to slow down or change what it stands for.
“We’re really focused on continuing to strengthen our Academy program, so more girls than ever can experience the joy of playing, developing and being part of the game.” Bulger said.
“We’re also incredibly excited to be launching the Alamein Coach Education Fund this Female Football Week, which will help us attract, train and retain talented and motivated female coaches through scholarships, mentoring and expanded coaching experience opportunities, which in turn means our girls and women can learn from more coaches who understand their experience as female players.”
Is your club planning on doing something special to celebrate Female Football Week this year? Make sure you fill out the Female Football Week Event submission form so we can help promote your event.