Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) celebrates their sixth consecutive season that ALDI MiniRoos For Girls Leagues were introduced in Northern NSW.
Newcastle Football clubs introduced the program in its inaugural year of 2012, Macquarie Football clubs joined the League in 2015 and Hunter Valley clubs have entered this year.
ALDI MiniRoos for Girls Leagues allows girls aged between 6 and 11 to play with and against girls during the winter football season.
There are now 18 ALDI MiniRoos for Girls Leagues with 130 teams participating across the Hunter Region, compared to 77 teams and 10 competitions in 2016.
In 2012, Newcastle Football had started with only 6 teams in the under 6 Girls Leagues and now have increased to 83 teams across all ages in 2017. Macquarie Football has 39 and for their first-year running, Hunter Valley Football has 8 teams.
Northern NSW Footballs Female Participation Officer Nyssa Suchanow is delighted by the growth of the League.
“Participation numbers this season reflect our vision and hard work of our Member Zones and their clubs in providing opportunities for girls to play with and against other girls. We [NNSWF] knew there was a desire for ‘Girls Only’ football and that can clearly be seen by the league’s growth over the past 6 seasons.”
“Our Member Zones and clubs need to be commended for their hard work in providing young girls with a great opportunity to become involved in Football,” Suchanow said.
Since the inception of the League in 2012, Newcastle Football r female player numbers in the ALDI MiniRoos age group (5-11) has increased by 120%.
Russell Henry, CEO of Newcastle Football, believes that every girl in the region deserves the opportunity to participate in the sport the world loves.
“The ‘Girls Only’ Leagues are the foundation to increase participation of young girls within the game and over the past season, the interest has grown dramatically. The all-girls leagues now cover 6 to 11 MiniRoos and now gives us the connection from MiniRoos to Girls/Women’s Competitions,” Henry said.
Hunter Valley Football clubs have also been working hard to establish girls teams with 5 clubs and 8 teams joining this year.
Sarah White, Hunter Valley Football’s Operations Manager, is excited for the future growth of the league in her zone.
“Clubs have worked hard this year to get ‘Girls Only’ teams together. Once the wider community is aware of the opportunity our clubs are providing, the league will continue to grow,” White said.
With 31 of the 86 Clubs across the 3 Hunter Member Zones now participating in the ALDI MiniRoos for Girls Leagues, there is a good chance you will spot a game or two at your local club this weekend. Although, if you are at New Lambton chances are you will see 20 or more games with the club having 26 Girls teams in 2017.
Northern NSW Football wishes good luck to all the teams this year, we hope you have a fantastic season!
ALDI MiniRoos for Girls Leagues kicks off tomorrow, Saturday, April 22nd, 2017.
Clubs involved in the ALDI MiniRoos for Girls Leagues in 2017
Club | No of Teams: | Zone |
Cessnock PCYC | 2 | Hunter Valley Football |
Gresford Vacy FC | 1 | Hunter Valley Football |
Lochinvar Rovers FC | 2 | Hunter Valley Football |
Maitland FC | 1 | Hunter Valley Football |
Tenambit Sharks FC | 2 | Hunter Valley Football |
Barnsley FC | 3 | Macquarie Football |
Belmont FC | 2 | Macquarie Football |
Dudley Redhead FC | 4 | Macquarie Football |
Edgeworth FC | 3 | Macquarie Football |
Garden Suburb FC | 5 | Macquarie Football |
Kahibah FC | 7 | Macquarie Football |
South Cardiff | 1 | Macquarie Football |
Swansea FC | 1 | Macquarie Football |
Valentine FC | 4 | Macquarie Football |
Warners Bay FC | 7 | Macquarie Football |
Westlakes Wildcats | 1 | Macquarie Football |
Belswans JSC | 1 | Macquarie Football |
Adamstown FC | 5 | Newcastle Football |
Broadmeadow Magic FC | 2 | Newcastle Football |
Cooks Hill FC | 16 | Newcastle Football |
Maryland Fletcher | 3 | Newcastle Football |
Mayfield JSC | 7 | Newcastle Football |
Merewether FC | 4 | Newcastle Football |
New Lambton FC | 26 | Newcastle Football |
Raymond Terrace | 2 | Newcastle Football |
South Wallsend FC | 3 | Newcastle Football |
Stockton FC | 3 | Newcastle Football |
Kotara South FC | 7 | Newcastle Football |
Tilligerry FC | 3 | Newcastle Football |
Medowie FC | 1 | Newcastle Football |
Lambton Jaffas | 1 | Newcastle Football |