Girls Football - Has anybody had experience of the quality

Hi

We are looking to move to either the Southern Gold Coast or Sydney next year on a 457 visa. My daughter is currently 13 and plays for Manchester City Football Club and for Greater Manchester. Has anybody got experience or know of anybody who was playing at a high level in the Uk and has experienced the quality of the football in Australia?

We have spoken to a couple of teams/coaches in both areas who feel that the quality is of a high/comparable standard but she is still worried. If there are any girls who are currently playing football in Australia it would be good to hear from them

Thanks

I've no idea how the standard of womens' and girls' soccer in Australia compares to England, but Australians always take their sport seriously, and soccer is very popular.

Maybe contact the leagues/clubs directly? I don't know?

http://www.footballnsw.com.au/index.php?id=150

Hi there, my son is 16 and in his 4th year of playing footy here on the gold coast and there are lots of girls/womens teams around here, in different division, ranging to Premiership Open Teams. Dont know how the standard compares, but 2 seasons ago, my son had 2 girls playing in his male team which was division 1 or 2, so there is the option to play male if wanted, although as I say there are lots of girls teams. There is also in most sports, 'Representative' teams whereby you try out for the Reps team. I would say it is similar to our Town Teams. This is separate to your own local club and you would train with the reps and play matches and tournaments against other Rep teams. My daughter is in the reps team for netball, she's turning 12, and will compete in lots of games/tournaments around the place and as far as Rockhampton in the north.

I believe there is also a higher standard league that plays out of Brisbane (one of my daughter's ex-friends plays in it). She's 12 and has played for at least a season or two. Her son also plays in it and he got a scholarship to the most expensive school here on the coast for footy. I know the fees are expensive for that - somewhere in the region of $1,000+. I've also just got the uniform list for my daughters netball rep team and that's over $300!

Anyway, I'm sure there are options for your daughter. Perhaps make some enquiries with http://www.footballgc.com.au/ There may also be an option for her to play in the women's 'open' teams, although may be restricted by age at the moment.

Hope that helps.

Julie

Hi Guys

Thanks so much for responding to my post and for providing the links. Sorry was a bit new to this so didn't realise I had any replies to my question - wasn't being rude

Maryrose02 - we are kind of assuming and hoping that sport will be a big part of life down under which will be great for my kids who also take their sport seriously

Julie, it all seems very confusing in terms of leagues and stuff am sure we will get to grips with it once we are there... my daughter is happy to make the move but football is so important to her and I just am hoping it will be right.

It's been a while so I'm not sure if this is still relevant. I am on the committee of a soccer club in Brisbane and generally the support of elite players is very good. There is an awareness of trying to groom top players from an early age and they do try to get the best playing with/against the best. However if you're on the Gold Coast then you'll probably be travelling a lot up to Brisbane to play against the top sides. I'm not aware of the setup in Sydney but I'm sure that would have a greater concentration of elite players and so you wouldn't have to travel as far.

The women's game is well supported here and you'll see women's games on free-to-air TV pretty regularly. I would imagine the standard will be high enough for your daughter to reach her potential, although if she gets to the standard of the W-league (top league here) or the Australian under-age sides then she may want to return to the UK to progress further.