Women’s football teams from around the country are encouraged to plan for an end-of-season trip on the Central Coast of NSW by taking part in the Women in Football Tournament at Tuggerah from 11-12 September which will see the winners awarded the 'Waltzing Trophy'. 

​

The 'Waltzing Trophy' is in reference to the 1975 women's team that placed third in the first Ladies Asian Cup but which has not been given recognised as an Australian team, even though the team competed as Australia against other nations.

​

The Women in Football Tournament is a 16-team competition comprised of a group stage and a knockout stage, with every team guaranteed a minimum of four games over the weekend.

 

The lower-placed teams will compete in parallel in the knockout stage for the Pat O'Connor Cup, who was the captain of the team.

 

The idea behind the Women in Football Tournament is to bring women together who play, coach or referee football, who are volunteers, ‘soccer mums’, or who just enjoy the game, to celebrate the many faceted contribution of women to the game.

 

“It is a way of women making connections, building new bridges, making new friends, exchanging experiences and, ultimately, helping to have a positive impact on the role of women in football.

 

“We hope through doing this we can help inspire women to take on leadership roles in the game also,” a spokesperson said.

​

“We all enjoy the Matildas, the Socceroos, the W-League and A-League, and seeing our own kids play, but this is a weekend for us.

 

“It’s for the many women behind-the-scenes in clubs, and in teams, to get together and just enjoy the game for what it is - not because of something we have to do.

 

The other aspect of the weekend involves the Women in Football Awards, which are supported by the NSW Government. 

 

The Awards will be given in three categories of Volunteer, Media and Emerging Leader.

 

“We’ve selected these categories because volunteers are the backbone of grassroots clubs, as well as professional clubs. Without them, the game wouldn’t survive, and we’d like to help recognise the efforts of the hundreds of thousands of individuals who make sure clubs, teams and matches tick-over week-in, week-out.

 

“We want to encourage more and improved media on women’s football, whether that be in the mainstream or non-traditional media and regardless of whether it’s print or broadcast. By this, we don’t mean fluffy, feel-good PR stories, but good solid journalism and reporting.

 

“Finally, through the Emerging Leader award we want to encourage younger people to step-up and help show the way for others in achieving a better gender balance in the committees and boardrooms of football in Australia, as well as in coaching, refereeing, administration and management.”

 

Nominations for all three categories close on 2 July 2021.

​

The tournament will be hosted at the Central Coast Regional Sporting Complex in Tuggerah, a high quality purpose-built sporting complex with multiple fields. 

​

The Central Coast is located approximately 90 kilometres from Sydney and is easily accessible by train service from Sydney and Sydney Airport. 

​

The Women in Football Tournament is an initiative of Women in Football Australia, a national member-based charitable association aimed at advancing and celebrating the role of women in football.

​

The Women in Football Tournament is supported by the NSW Government, the Central Coast Council and Central Coast Mariners Football Club.

 

Further information, including entry forms for the tournament and nomination forms for the Awards can be found at womeninfootball.org.au.

​​

Details

Women in Football Tournament, 11-12 September 2020

Central Coast Regional Sporting Complex, Tuggerah

Team entry fee: $495 (by 31 May); $600 (after 31 May)

​

​