This year, thousands of international soccer fans will be heading to Australia for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but Australian women’s soccer took a big step forward long before the tournament even got to the organizing stage.
In 2008, Football Federation Australia unveiled the W-League, a top division women’s competition aligned with the men’s A-League.
While the Women’s National Soccer League [WNSL] having provided the path for women to the elite level from 1996 to 2004 before folding, the W-League was seen as Australia’s first true professional league for women.
Tomorrow Sydney FC take on Western United in the 15th annual grand final in the new league, which has since been renamed the A-League Women. [ALW] competition.
It will be a showpiece for women’s football in Australia before the biggest names in the women’s game descend on the country and the World Cup.
Melbourne Victory captain Kayla Morrison, Western United vice-captain Hillary Beall, Sydney FC captain Natalie Tobin and Melbourne City captain Emma Checke with the A-League Women trophy
Tobin will compete with Western United star Tyla-Jay Vlajnic in their A-League Women semi-final. They will meet again in the grand final on Sunday
Sydney FC captain Natalie Tobin has played 65 professional games in the ALW, dating back to 2012, and she said the evolution of the women’s game had been huge in that time.
“Based on the training facilities and what we played with, it used to be very amateurish,” she said. ABC Sports.
“I don’t think I even got paid in my first season. In the second season I got about $1000.
‘We used to train at a gym in Seven Hills. In fact, we didn’t even have access to toilets; you would have to go down a gate, put a pin in the school toilets to get in.
‘It didn’t even bother some people because it was such a trek, so you had to go behind a fence.
“It was pretty wild. I look back and I’m like, ‘Oh everyone had to learn to tie their own ankles and knees because we didn’t have physio’, which undoubtedly led to a lot more injuries. So it’s certainly come a long way.’
The Sky Blues are a basic club from the original W-League and are also the most successful.
They have the youngest squad in the league this season with an average age of just 21.
Before she was a global name at Chelsea, Australian Matilda star Sam Kerr cut her teeth in the W-League. Pictured in 2008 playing for Perth Glory
The Queensland Roar women celebrate victory in the W-League’s inaugural season in 2008/09
Western United, on the other hand, is the newest team in the league, added as part of the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) expansion efforts to grow women’s professional football.
With three more teams expected over the next three seasons, the league offers more opportunities for Australia’s next generation of players.
This weekend’s Grand Final, featuring a founding team against a new expansion team, marks a pivotal moment for the league.
Tobin said it was important to recognize the pioneers of the early days of the W-League who poured their hearts and souls into the league – often for free – to build a league that Australian women could be proud of.
“It’s pretty incredible what they’ve done for the game,” she said.
“There are girls out there who have had such a big impact on my career that I still look up to.
“They worked full time and played W-League for so long. I get a lot of them now, but they had done it for me years and years.
“We have new girls coming into our team saying, ‘This needs to be fixed, this is bullshit, we’re short on resources here,’ which is true, but if you go back 10 years, you should have seen the state of things. .
“I just want to thank them for their contribution. Someone like Ellie Brush is constantly arguing for better resources and investments in the game. We need to encourage them to stay involved because they’ve made it this far. They were there in the beginning.’
While today’s players have access to physios, doctors and other medical personnel, they often had to tie up their own injuries early on
Local high school facilities used for training in the early days are a far cry from the Allianz and Commbank stadiums and other elite training and playing venues
After a season in which expectations were exceeded, A-League Women newcomers Western United are confident they can stun powerhouse Sydney FC in their first major final.
United will look to become the second expansion team, after Melbourne City in 2015/16, to claim silverware in their first season clash at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
The newcomers, who finished second in the regular season, defeated Sydney 1-0 in their semi-final and earned a week off to freshen up for the rematch.
“We all went into this season with a good attitude but didn’t really expect much from ourselves and didn’t know what to expect with new players coming in and whatnot,” captain Jaclyn Sawicki told AAP.
“We have exceeded our expectations and we have worked very hard.
“This is why we’re playing this beautiful game, it’s these big games and we’re very excited.”