The St Albans Spurs women’s football team will create history in September, becoming the first women’s team to embark on a tour of America playing and promoting Australian rules football. The Spurs who field two senior teams in the Victorian Women’s Football League will play games in Los Angeles and New York against US AFL women’s teams including the New York Magpies, Sacramento Suns, San Francisco Iron Maidens and Boston Demons
The ten day tour will take place between 12 September and 22 September with the Spurs touring party comprising 33 members. The group will create sporting history, conducting clinics to promote the game and competing in two round robin tournaments. A few footy names associated with the trip include Bridget Caddy, the cousin of current Geelong player Josh Caddy, Rebecca Towns, daughter of former Carlton and Footscray player Greg Towns and Bree White, current AFL women’s Melbourne Football Club player.
The St Albans Spurs, (formerly Sunshine YCW) are a proud women’s football club who field two teams in the Victorian Women’s Football League. The club also has a Youth Girls team and a junior girls program and was the first female football club established in Melbourne’s western suburbs in 1993. The Spurs are second oldest club in the VWFL, the largest in the west and he the second largest women’s football club in the country. The Spurs currently have more than 200 young women and girls playing and volunteering for the Club. More information about the St Albans Spurs can be found atwww.stalbansspurs.com.au
Women’s football legend and Spurs founder Debbie Lee is a driving force behind the tour.
“The Spurs are undertaking this trip to provide our members with an unique experience, she said.
The club is in a rebuilding stage and as a result we wanted to be creative and provide a unique experience, enabling us to grow our people both on and off the field. We are very excited to have a 33 strong travelling party which is a combination of players, volunteers, families and youth girls.
It will be a terrific adventure that will further galvanise our club and develop our people. This trip also has a great opportunity to promote not only the Spurs, but women’s footy and women’s sport” Lee said.
Club President Karen Hayes is excited about the trip and what it means for her club.
“The US trip for the Spurs is an exciting opportunity to be the first women’s AFL football team to play off shore and to showcase women’s football on the global stage, she said.
It’s wonderful recognition of the commitment and passion of the players, administration, supporters and coaching staff that they have actively fundraised in order to provide this unique opportunity for the Club to be the pioneers of such a great initiative.
“As the second oldest women’s football Club in Australia, the Spurs will take the opportunity to promote women’s football internationally and to share skills and experience with players in the US.
The trip will also serve as a well-deserved personal and professional development opportunity for all those who will be involved and to build on the international network that has commenced between the US and Australia” Hayes said.
The purpose of the tour is to build the Spurs brand, provide a culture and life experience for our players and members, develop our people and grow the game for women and the sport itself. We are working with USA AFL and its Clubs to share our football experiences and connect with the footy fraternity abroad.
Women’s football remains the fastest growing segment of the game with 166,000 women and girls playing the game, 1,975 females umpiring the game and more than 5000 females coaching the game nationally. The growth of the sport is phenomenal and the game continues to grow annually.
Last Modified on 11/09/2014 14:43