Northern NSW Football is delighted to announce that its NPL Women’s NNSW Goalkeeper of the Year Award will be named after Debra Carlin.
The Debra Carlin Goalkeeper of the Year Award will be awarded to the best goalkeeper in the NPL Women’s NNSW first grade competition in honour of the Matildas cap number 34 and NNSWF Women’s Premier League veteran.
Carlin has four caps for the Matildas dating from 1984 to 1997 and was the first female goalkeeper to represent Australia from northern NSW.
In the NNSWF Women's Premier Leagues, Carlin played for Broadmeadow Magic and Adamstown Rosebud JFC.
Carlin said she was honoured to have the NPL Women’s NNSW Goalkeeper of the Year award named after her.
“There was a lot of shock but it is an honour and a privilege. It is an honour to receive this at this stage in my life. It is amazing,” Carlin said.
“I would like to thank my mum and my family for their support throughout my football career.
“I played football here in northern NSW for over 30 years and I only missed two seasons.
“I played for Broadmeadow Magic in the first year of what was Women’s Premier League and then Adamstown Rosebud JFC.
“The NPL Women’s NNSWF is great and gives younger girls great pathways into senior football and to be able to stay local is amazing for girls and women these days. I think that is one of the big things because we never had that. Girls had to travel overseas to get an opportunity.”
Northern NSW Football CEO Peter Haynes was thrilled to recognise Carlin with the award.
“Deb was a trailblazer for female goalkeepers in our region, showcasing her talents on the local, national and international stages,” Haynes said.
“We are proud to have her name associated with such a prestigious award in our NPL Women’s NNSW competition.
“NNSWF is committed to being equitable and to recognise the significant contribution that women have made and are making in the game.”
The Matildas Alumni became a goalkeeper by accident but quickly rose through the ranks to receive her first national team call up at the age of 17.
“How I ended up in goals was when I was 10, I was the only person that fit into the shirt as it was a really small shirt,” Carlin said.
“My family was a rugby league family but at that time girls couldn’t play so this was something that was close to it.
“We started playing in primary school with my friends and one of them was another Matildas Alumni Shelley Youman. We would play in a group against the boys. That group of girls played for at least 15 years together down at Charlestown Hotspurs Soccer Club.
“I went to my first senior national titles and was selected from there. There was myself and Lisa Dunne who was 17 as well and also from northern NSW.
“That was the first time I was selected. It was daunting as a lot of the girls had been together for a little while.
“My time with the Matildas back then ranged from 1984 to 1991 and then again in 1997.
“I was selected again in 1997 after I had my son. We played a three-game friendly tournament in Australia against the USA. The game in Sydney there were 3000 people there but it was amazing back then. I was in my 30s at that stage.”
Carlin reflected on her experience in the Matildas and how much women’s football has progressed in Australia and around the world.
“There were times that I was selected in teams but there was no tournament,” Carlin said.
“I played in a time where you had to pay your own way. When I was selected when I was 17 my mum had to pay for everything. We got the shorts, socks and jerseys that we had to give back after we wore them.
“It wasn’t called the Matildas back then. It was just the Australian women’s soccer team.
“After the World Cup last year, everything that Football Australia did to give publicity to the Matildas Alumni was amazing.”
The Debra Carlin NPL Women’s NNSW Goalkeeper of the Year Award will be presented at the van Egmond Jennings Awards at NEX Newcastle West on Friday 4 October.
