Australia’s Matildas have kicked one big goal, with their success already driving more girls towards the round-ball game – and the Sunshine Coast is no exception.
The incredible achievements of the Matildas on and off the pitch during the recent World Cup campaign has seen a strong spike in the number of young girls wanting to take up the sport locally.
That’s according to Buderim Football Club president Ben Moffett.
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“The success of the Matildas has transcended the sport and we’re certainly seeing that on a local level with many young girls contacting our club and wanting to play next season,” he said.
“It’s great for our club and great for the competition, as more players makes us stronger and more competitive.
“The Sunshine Coast Churches Soccer Association have advised that on the back of a very successful inaugural all-girls Under-8s competition, 2024 will be expanding to include Under-7 and Under-9 all-girls competitions next season.
“This is great news for the competition and we are encouraging parents to find their local team and sign up their daughter so they can have some fun honing new skills and meeting new friends in 2024.
“We are also seeing more people coming to our games to support both the men’s and women’s teams across all grades, and more sponsors are showing interest in coming on board because the sport has much larger and diverse participation base.”
Raw Energy cafe, which sponsors all the Buderim junior boys’ and girls’ teams, has seized on the opportunity to back the emerging football trend.
General manager Ben Sheppard said the business started its sponsorship with Buderim United a couple of years ago with the goal of embracing boys’ and girls’ teams.
“We knew soccer was on an upward trajectory but I’ll admit we didn’t expect to see the incredible success of the Matildas and their positive impact, which defies anything we anticipated,” he said.
“The more girls and women playing soccer is not only good for the sport but also provides more value for us as a sponsor because it opens our brand to a broader cross-section of the community.
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“It also helps us with activations like our current campaign where we offer all juniors a free juice when they come in wearing their uniform. We offer this to all local children as it aligns with our company’s values of supporting our community to lead active and healthy lifestyles.
“We think sport is important to our youth, not just from a physical point of view but also a mental perspective.”
Children who play local sport can visit any of the four Sunshine Coast Raw Energy cafes wearing their local sporting gear to enjoy a free juice with any purchase.
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