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November 3, 2023
Following their exciting FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 performance and on their journey through 2024 Olympics qualifying, the CommBank Matildas are focusing on supporting the women coaches and players of tomorrow and encouraging girls’ participation in football. As part of an extension of CommBank and Football Australia’s partnership, the Growing Football Fund recently launched to train women coaches and to engage 50,000 women and girls over the next two years.
Australia had only two women head coaches appointed for the A-League Women’s 2023-24 when going into the World Cup. Additionally, only three women hold a full-time professional coaching role in the country. Research from Melbourne’s La Trobe University attributes these low numbers to barriers for women in entering and progressing in elite and grassroots sports coaching roles. These include sexist discrimination, derogatory backlash, a devaluation of their abilities and homophobic behavior in some cases.
The Growing Football Fund has therefore made a multi-million-dollar commitment to support grassroots football in Australia with a national focus on coaching and participation. Integral to the retention of women players is a provision for professional development opportunities for new and existing coaches working with women and girls. By providing access to quality coaching designed specifically for women and girls, the program will help create a more inclusive and supportive sporting landscape that will, in turn, attract new players.
“Grassroots sport empowers communities – it is where children grow up, family and friends come together and dreams are realized. This should be strengthened and preserved for future generations,” said Monique Macleod, Commonwealth Bank Group Executive of Marketing and Corporate Affairs. “We are looking forward to bringing this to life with our partners at Football Australia in our joint quest to support and bolster the CommBank Matildas of tomorrow and support the education of world-class coaching and clubs across the nation.”
A dedicated online “Coaches Hub” will also play a critical role in supporting coaches and growing participation. It will provide access to C/B Diplomas for coaches through scholarships, a new, state-based network of women coaches for peer-to-peer support and high-quality resources and technical training.
Community teams, clubs and associations can also apply for a grant of up to $5,000 to support key initiatives that can include grassroots participation or coaches’ development specific to women and girls in football. Applications will open on November 8 and can be submitted on the Growing Football Fund website. Grant recipients will be announced in February 2024.
Matilda standouts Sam Kerr, Lydia Williams and Charlotte Grant joined Commonwealth Bank and Football Australia in Perth to launch the Fund earlier this week. “We have seen what is possible when you invest in women and girls and provide them with the opportunity to fulfill their potential. We want this transformative experience for women and girls at all levels of football. I am excited to see how the Growing Football Fund will be able to support clubs to increase the access to football for women and girls whether they are playing or coaching the next generation,” said Kerr.
Source: CommBank
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