Australia: Time to start supporting women’s football
From SportsBlog.com:
It’s just over a week since the historic women’s match at the MCG, and the talk of a national Women’s League in 2020. After all the hype and talk around Women’s Round, there has still been a lack of media attention towards the leagues across Australia.
The historic match which saw women from each state drafted into two teams wasn’t shown on any network but was recorded and posted on YouTube in not so spectacular quality. The networks believed the costs were too great to cover such an event.
It seems hard to believe that most media outlets couldn’t find the time to spare a few moments to talk about such an event after the AFL had hyped it up. Minor mentions were made during and after the games the night of the match.
It is time for some of these leagues to start gaining the support they deserve and help grow the women’s game, after all one day we are going to have a National Women’s League that will showcase more of the top talent from around Australia.
Just like how the game has started to grow in Tasmania, since it was formed in 2007 by Vanessa Mayer and Toni O’Bree, the Tasmanian Women’s Football League has been growing each year. Through newspaper articles, and word of mouth Toni was able to form a team in Launceston (affiliated with the Launceston Football Club) and Vanessa was able to form a team in Hobart (affiliated with the Clarence Football Club.
The first game of Women’s football was played at Bellerive Oval on 30 June 2007 during the Half Time Break of the Tasmanian Devils game. In July a second game was played, the next year they played 6 games and the first premiership was awarded to Clarence.
Along the way new teams were formed East Devonport joined the league in 2009, with Clarence claiming the premiership again that season. Interest in the league grew and in 2010 North Hobart, Spreyton and Yeoman all joining the fixture. After a top 4 finals series the Blues emerged Premiers.
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