Football Australia is targeting gender parity in community football participation by 2027, and one club in Northern NSW with a strong female focus is closing in on that.
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With premier league competitions already in action and community football seasons set to kick off at the end of April, Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) have reported an overall increase in participation as 22 per cent year on year to date.
Female participation numbers are up 32 per cent year on year, with roughly 3000 more women and girls registered compared to this time last year.
Overall, female participation makes up 28 per cent of registrations in Northern NSW this year.
At Swansea Football Club, female participation has grown by 44 per cent from last season.
"We're seeing a really good increase overall year to date on our 2023 registrations numbers," NNSWF general manager NSW Football Legacy Annelise Rosnell said.
"We won't know that full picture until winter registrations close come June 30 but it's shaping up to be a bigger year than last year.
"We're putting that down to a mix of things. It could be people being more proactive this year because they've been inspired by the Women's World Cup last year and the Socceroos' campaign back in 2022, mixed with the programs that we're running in the community.
"At the moment the [female] participation rate is 28 per cent of our registered players but what's important to note is we're seeing an increase overall in participation.
"So, while that doesn't look that different from last year, the number of women and girls we have playing is significantly more.
"That's 3000 [female] players that we have registered more than we had last year."
Traditionally, female football has been played on Sundays in the Hunter region but Rosnell said a range of new offerings in recent years had helped grow the game.
That includes the implementation of Kick on for Women introductory programs, All Age women's competitions on Friday nights as well as a new over-30s competition on Monday nights that looks set to have two divisions this year.
Billie Price has four daughters, aged 10 to 15, who all play football but got her first taste of the game through a Kick on for Women program run by Swansea Football Club.
From there, the 36-year-old helped form an All Age women's team.
Price now coaches one of the club's All Age women's sides and is in her fifth year as club president.
"We've still got registrations coming now but it's looking like we're getting closer to that 50:50 split with our male to female, which is amazing," Price said.
"Numbers-wise, we're growing across the board. We're not the biggest club in the area but we have nearly 700 registrations this year.
"We're a female majority executive now. The president, registrar, financial controller, secretary and senior vice-president are all female, so it's just a lot of hard work behind the scenes initially to make the club a bit more inclusive and welcoming for the girls and females.
"On top of that, the success of the Matildas and how amazing the World Cup was has increased our numbers as well, and all of the programs with Legacy funding we were able to offer in that female space has been great for the growth.
"That brought mums back to the club and gave them that confidence to go from Kick On to then being able to play a game, myself included."
Football Australia also has a focus on removing barriers to women and girls playing the sport through providing female friendly facilities.
Price said their club's home and away sheds both had the ability to split further in half with dividing roller doors and they offered two referee rooms.
"If we've got our over-35 men playing on a Friday night, we put that divider down so our all-age women also have that space as well," she said.
As the club continues to grow, the next focus is on lightning for their third field to help alleviate increased traffic for training and games.
