Females Falter as Disparities Deepen

Female soccer competitors who now make up 30% of the competition, need to be “recognised” and “rewarded”, said local soccer coach Steve Carroll.

Throughout the Macarthur area, female soccer suffers numerous disadvantages. Despite the large numbers of woman and girls playing soccer in the region, little emphasis is placed on their development.

A clear indicator of this discrimination can be seen through the treatment of the Rams Under12 girls last year. While they went through the competition virtually undefeated, the premiership success was barely recognised and they received no rewards for their efforts.

“They had to play at a local park but the boys in same age group played [on] the main field, at Lynwood,” said Steve Carroll, treasurer of St Mary’s EagleVale Soccer Club and coach of the U16s (green) girls’ team.

Female soccer players in Macarthur also have little to aspire to. Representative sides are limited to one team per age group, with only three main sides in the local area (12, 14 and 16 girls).

Women’s Liason Officer for the Eschol Park Wolves, Rachel Culican, believes that “it just needs to be promoted more”. Looking at the makeup of the competition, 25-30% of the Macarthur soccer players are female, a figure which is rapidly increasing.

The two year age groupings are another key discrepancy between male and female soccer in the region. While the boys go by consecutive age groups, this two year jump for girls poses a number of problems.

According to Mr. Carroll, “it’s a big jump from 16…to an all age [team], where they’re playing anyone that’s forty or less. But certainly a lot bigger and stronger than what a lot of these girls are”.

While female soccer may have been perceived in the past as a ‘bit of a laugh’, Mr. Carroll hopes that the “weight of numbers” will force local organisations to recognise and reward female soccer in the local Macarthur region.

It is time for local clubs to realise that female soccer is now prominent within the region and step up to the challenge of making the female competition just as successful as that of the males.