When young players arrive in the national team and on the big stage it should look like the next logical step and not a giant leap. Here are some of the systems set up to help young guns become senior Matildas
By Kieran Yap 14/2/24
Photo: Jessika Nash (left) Naomi Chinnama (middle) and Daniela Galic for the Young Matildas. Football Australia
When Kaitlyn Torpey made her debut in the Olympic qualifiers, she did not look out of place on the international stage. For players like her, The Matildas are the culmination of a lifetime of work and the start of a new stage.
At 23 years old, Torpey looked ready for the team, much like Mary Fowler, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Amy Sayer and Charli Grant have. While much of this is obviously due to the individual qualities and sacrifices of the players, there have never been more systems in place to give Australia’s best youngsters the chance to become stars, and make sure they are ready when they do step out in front of 54,000 fans.
The National Talent Development Scheme
In late February Football Australia unveiled a new system for identifying players with national team potential. Acting on recommendations from FIFA, the new system will allow for coaches around the geographically vast country to add information into a centralized database. This Talent ID Webform will be accessible to accredited and approved coaches who will assess players based on:
- Pressure
- Protection
- Positioning
- Possession
- Penetration
- Presence
Previously, talend identification in Australia has been focused disproportionately in the main cities and with limited capture points. the new scheme seeks to change that so that players can be assessed over a longer period of time in different setting.
Frequent Talent Development matches will be scheduled in every state and territory where scouted youngsters are selected to play in an 11 v 11 match. Participating players will be selected from Member Federation programs, NPL clubs, A-League clubs, Schools and regional areas. This is not strictly a youth development program, but aims to find as many potential stars as possible to enter those programs.
The inclusion of schools as part of the pathway is important. Club fees are expensive, often prohibitively so and there are limits to what Football Australia has been able to do to limit this. But if players can be discovered playing for their schools it simply widens the net beyond those that can afford to play.
How effectively this will be can only be known in time. There is the worrying potential that young players will be trying too hard to appeal to the assessable attributes instead of learning by playing, but it has recieved the glowing support of Junior Matildas coach Rae Dower and Melbourne City forward Bryleeh Henry.
Dower spoke of the usefullness of the Web form to easily compare data, but also the flow on effect from the program
“We can not only look for some bespoke qualities in different positions,” said Dower
“But also gain the opportunity to identify some future coaches who we can see have a really great eye for being able to identify and select potential players.”
“I think its huge,” said Henry
“If you look at the participation numbers from the Women’s World Cup and how much they’ve grown already, there’s so much raw talent out there that’s just waiting to be unearthed.
“It puts that belief back in players. Inside all players they should have that belief that no matter where they live that they can make it. Having these programs out there where they can get identified emphasizes that.
“For current players its only going to make us work harder and push for spots because it’s only going to get more competetive which then has a flow on effect to our national teams.”
“We want to eventually be number one, to win World Cups and Olympics and this is a good step in that direction.”
The Junior Matildas
The Junior Matildas are Australia’s Under-17 side, but have competed in other age brackets and are the reigning Under 18 AFF Champions in Asia. Goals to Sienna Saveska and Mary Stanic-Floody secured a 2-0 win over Vietnam in 2022 and gave that generation of youngsters their first international trophy. The Junior Matildas were established in 2007. Of the 2019 squad to travel to the Under 16 Asian Cup, 21 of the 23 players went on to A-League Women Careers.
Coached by Rae Dower, this is one of the first steps on the national team pathway. The players are exposed to the expectations and realities of playing abroad, representing the nation and playing international football against the best young players in the region.
The Young Matildas
Australia’s Under 20 side. The Young Matildas are often the last step before a senior call up. Karly Roestbakken’s late elevation to the 2019 World Cup squad came after stand out performances with Leah Blayney’s highly regarded side. That 2019 Asian Cup team was packed with stars. Kyra Cooney-Cross, Mary Fowler, Charlie Grant, Courtney Nevin, Princess Ibini, and Rachel Lowe have all been called into senior camps since. Indiah Paige-Riley and Deborah Anne De La Harpe have both switched allegiances to New Zealand and The Republic of Ireland respectively while sadly Holly McNamara joined Kaitlyn Torpey on the injured list for that tournament.
That generation did not win the Asian Cup, but Roestbakken and Fowler graduated to the senior squad almost immediately, while Kyra Cooney-Cross, Nevin and Grant would soon join them. As a means of preparing players for the top level, the Under 20’s program has been a massive success in recent years and provided a young spine for the senior team capable of helping with the approaching regeneration of the squad.
In 2022, The Young Matildas were given a chance to take part in the Under 20 World Cup in Costa Rica. They won their opening game against the hosts 3-1, but went out at the groups stage after defeats to Brazil and Spain. From that group, Bryleeh Henry, Charlize Rule, Jess Nash and Sarah Hunter would make senior debuts within the next two years. Daniela Galic featured heavily in that tournament at the age of 16, and is still eligible for the upcoming Under 20 Asian Cup where she is expected to be a key player.
“There’s a lot that I took from the World Cup, especially against Brazil and Spain,” Bryleeh Henry told Impetus71 in late 2022.
“We got world-class opponents and hard teams. Like (Immaculada) Gabarro from Spain, the way that she moves herself around and can score goals against any opponent.
“I was pretty happy with my tournament. I think learning I could compete at that level was a good confidence booster.
“We’ve played over there and in the conditions. The chemistry that we’ve built is so important and will only build further in this season when we train together every single day. I think that’s important.”
There is sometimes overlap between the Young Matildas and the senior team. Ellie Carpenter famously played regularly for the senior team and Under 20 side in 2018, but this is far rarer today and the Young Matildas team is more likely to have players in the Under 23 side than simultaneously in the senior team.
In March, the Young Matildas will once again participate in the Asian Cup and will be grouped with Uzbekistan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei. A second place finish in the group will ensure qualification for next year’s Under 20 World Cup.
Speaking at the announcement of the 2024 Asian Cup squad, Leah Blayney reiterated the importance of the Young Matildas in building the depth of the senior team and its contribution to Australian football.
“It’s at this age where players start to break into their club teams and take on positions of responsibility in those environments,” said Blayney.
“We look to build on that in the national team to sharpen their already considerable tools and provide them with even more assets for their future career.
“Historically across this age group, and particularly in the past four years, we have shown there is a definite pathway to progress all the way up to the senior team. We are determined to do everything possible to qualify for this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup which will provide further opportunities for this talented group of players.”
The Under 23‘s
The Under 23 side is one of the newest additions to the pathway and is one of Tony Gustavsson’s most significant changes to the national team setup. Unlike the men’s game, there is no competitive reason for the Under 23’s to exist like the Olyroos. This is purely a developmental squad to keep players in the national team framework, provide them with international experience and let them learn the style of play expected as a senior Matilda.
Looking across all four age groups over the past three years, one can find similarities in game style even if the formations and personnel differ. There is a synergy to the way these programs work even though each has its own head coach and are playing in entirely different competitions.
The Under 23’s first outing was in 2022, when they participated in the AFF Championships. Australia’s under 23 side featured many of the players who played against Spain in the 7-0 loss a week earlier. They were captained by Charli Grant and coached by Mel Andreatta.
Australia lost to The Philippines 1-0 from a Sarina Bolden goal, but drew their next match against Thailand and defeated Singapore 4-1 in their third game. They finished off the tournament with a 6-0 thrashing of Malaysia and narrowly missed the knockout rounds, but the tournament provided valuable experience against senior internationals for some of Australia’s rising stars.
From the AFF’s Charli Grant further established herself as player ready to take on a larger role in as a senior Matilda, while Sarah Hunter, Amy Sayer, Jada Whyman and Matilda McNamara all featured heavily as they continued their journey to senior international caps.
More recently, the Under 23 squad played a two game series against Scotland. It allowed others such as Kaitlyn Torpey and Polly Doran to show what they could do in the green and gold with Doran scoring a goal and Torpey finding herself in the senior team to face Uzbekistan this month.
“The recent FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ demonstrated just how rapidly women’s football is advancing in terms of the quality on the pitch,” said Andreatta when naming a recent squad.
“The U-23 Women’s National Team program is a vital step for us as a nation to continue the evolution of players in that crucial age group. It not only provides the honour of being able to represent Australia but also the opportunity to gain invaluable experience at international level which is difficult to replicate in any other forum.”
Future Matildas
First launched in 2018, this is a little known program compared to the others. The Future Matildas were conceived as a way to provide a tailored training environment for the countries most gifted 15-20 year olds. It allows these players to train with other high level prospects and access specialized coaching and support staff. Originally, this program was mostly based in Sydney but in 2023 it was expanded to Victoria and Queensland with more scholarship recipients than ever before. Of the 23 senior Matildas who played in the Cup of Nations, nine had been through the Future Matildas program.
The Future Matildas contains many Junior and Young Matildas names, but is not restricted to them. The likes of Paige Zois, Alana Jancevski and Leticia McKenna were included in the 2023 list. All have the talent to become international footballers and Football Australia has invested in their potential.
“I was part of the Future Matildas Program for two years before moving to Sweden. This Program really helped me prepare for being overseas. It was a good stepping stone to now living on my own and doing things for myself,” said Charli Grant through Football Australia in 2023.
“Another important aspect was being in that full-time football environment around high-quality staff and high-quality players. It has really assisted me in meeting the mental and physical demands that is required to play full-time professionally. I am grateful to the Program as it helped me grow as a player and person and made the transition smooth when heading overseas to play in Sweden.”
At the announcement of the 2023 class, Leah Blayney spoke to the program’s importance.
“The Program has a resolute focus on developing players holistically for future national team programs, professional contracts and endeavours outside of football,” Blayney explained.
“For the time period they are outside of the Liberty A-League Women’s environment, we work to provide continuity of that high performance setting with access to high-quality coaching staff, individual programming related to identified player strengths and areas of improvement, opportunities to gain higher level match minutes including, Future Matildas internal Elite Games and international opponents training in Australia, plus athlete wellbeing and educational resources.
“We are also proud of the professional development openings available to identify and advance potential future national team staff across coaching, management, sports science, and sports medicine. This year’s staffing includes former CommBank Matildas, CommBank Young Matildas and Liberty A-League Women’s players as we look to engage and incorporate their knowledge in the pathway programs.”
Salary cap changes and clubs
This is a relatively minor change, but has the potential to have a big impact down the years. In 2023 The APL made changes to the A-League Women that allowed clubs to sign Scholarship players outside of the salary cap. In practical terms this means that more young players are given chances at elite football with clubs more capable of fitting them on a senior list without risking valuable cap space.
The likes of Zoe Tolland, Chrissy Panagaris (Adelaide United), Maya Lobo, Tess Quilligan (Mariners), and Ischia Brooking (Western Sydney Wanderers) are among those under scholarship contracts. These players only earn a minimum salary of $12,400 a season but have the opportunity to stay in an elite environment and play senior A-League Women football.
Although not an official part of the Matildas pathway, the changes to the salary cap allow for more players to be in the A-League Women, which provides the majority of players in the Under 20 and Under 23 sides.
Michelle Heyman is a rare case of not playing for any youth teams, but has made a significant impact at senior level. Following her four goal haul, Tony Gustavsson was quick to praise the impact of clubs.
”We need to understand as a national team coach, you pick players who have been developed in clubland and you try to make the best out of the players you have.
“But if it wasn’t for the phenomenal jobs they (the clubs) do, they couldn’t perform like this.
“I really want to credit the work that all the clubs are doing with the players to prepare them for this because it’s amazing.”
The majority of a players time is spent at clubland. While not all A-League clubs have academies set up for women’s sides some do.
Newcastle’s Emerging Jets, Sydney FC’s Academy and Melbourne Victory’s Elite Girls programs have all produced some excellent players, while Western United established an elite program for potential A-League players before their first season, have official links to NPL side Calder United and announced expansion to their girls academy in early 2024.
State Federations and National’s Tournaments
The state federations are the beginning of the elite pathway for many players. Although they are less discussed and lower profile, they are crucial to the national team setup.
In 2020 the Football Victoria Emerging side featured the likes of Caitlin Karic, Alana Murphy and Claudia Mihocic who have all made impacts as youth internationals and A-League Women players.
Former Young Matildas captain Emilia Murray starred for the South Australian NTC, and many of Canberra United’s stars came through their own local academy. Unfortunately that program has been halted by Capital Football, but it produced the likes of Future Matilda Hayley Taylor-Young, former Junior Matilda Emma Ilijoski and current Young Matilda Sasha Grove.
Annually, the best young players from around the country participate in the Nationals Tournament each year. Where under 14, 16 and 18 age groups compete against corresponding sides from other states. It is not the only way to build a career but remains a valuable step in the pathway.
The NTC sides are focused on developing the states best young players while exposing them to competitive football. Results are not the sole focus, but these teams are reliably competitive and highly watchable.
In 2022, Football Victoria Emerging finished fourth in the NPLW thanks to a last-minute goal by Silver-Bell Morris who later earned a place an A-League roster with Western United.
When announcing the Young Matildas squad to compete in the upcoming Asian Cup, Leah Blayney acknowledged many of the development pathways available to young players in Australia.
“I want to thank the close to 100 players who participated in the process and put their best foot forward in Elite Matches, National Youth Championships, NTC Challenge games, National Premier League clashes, A-League Women’s fixtures and CommBank Young Matildas’ camps,” she said through Football Australia.
“We are pleased with the final roster not only in terms of depth, but also the versatility, high motivation and form they are all current demonstrating. This is one of the most exciting cohorts that I have worked with over my six years with the national team, and it highlights the fantastic work being undertaken across the Australian football landscape,”
Player development is a mix of science, art and instinct. That we will continue to see “golden generations” of senior Matildas cannot be promised, but the future is very exciting and optimistic simply because every effort of being made to create the right conditions for it to occur.
The sport is evolving. The pathways are too.
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