Football Federation Australia and Member Federations will come together this week to celebrate the outstanding contribution that women and girls make to football across the nation.
Starting today, on International Women’s Day, female football will be the focus of a wide range of activities as rebel Female Football Week is celebrated by Member Federations.
The 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 also be held on Friday 13 March to recognise outstanding achievements by female players, officials, volunteers and administrators within football.
FFA Chief Executive James Johnson said he was proud that the Australian Football community celebrates the role women and girls have made to the sport.
Currently, women make up 21 per cent of Australia’s participation base with players born in over 150 different nations, with FFA aiming to have 50 per cent gender participation split by 2027.
Mr Johnson said FFA is working to build on the strong foundations to welcome more of tomorrow’s generation of girls and women into the football community.
“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,” Mr Johnson said.
“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.”
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.
rebel’s Managing Director Gary Williams said he was proud to continue to support female football in Australia.
“rebel proudly continues to invest in and support female football in Australia,” Mr Williams said. “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.
“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.”
