Kyneton District Soccer Club has received a $5000 grant to contribute to Football Australia’s goal of advancing gender equity and creating quality environments for women and girls.
Football Australia announced 121 clubs to receive a grant from the growing football fund community grants on March 13.
Kyneton District Soccer Club president Ron Cole said grants like these will make a massive improvement to the coaches, players and club as a whole.
“The money is going to be used to help our female coaches improve their knowledge and skills and put them through some coaching courses, which will then in turn go on to help our players,” he said.
“[Grants like these are] massively important, we’re a not-for-profit club and to try to raise this money would take us a couple of years of dedicated funding at least.”
Mr Cole said he has noticed a spike in interest across the board since the World Cup last year, and hopes the momentum can carry through with the Olympics in July.
“We’re going to have an extra under 10s, and under 12s girls team this year, there’s been a massive increase in female participation,” he said.
“We’re working hard to get a second adult women’s team this year, we’re quite on the cusp as well.
“The Matildas have had an effect on the male side of things as well. I think if the teams at the Olympics do well and are televised the interest will continue peaking.”
Two coaches from the club and 10 junior girls had their very own taste of international soccer, after being able to go on the pitch when the Matildas defeated Uzbekistan 10-nil in the Olympic qualifiers in Melbourne.
Zoe Moffatt
