Sorrento FC are the first club in WA to receive a One Star award as part of Football Australia’s Game Changer Club Development program.
FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura and Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman presented the certificate to the club during their visit to Percy Doyle Reserve last week.
Sorrento received the award as recognition for their Go Girls football program, which long-standing registrar Kaye Harnwell began three years ago to help get more girls involved in the club after receiving funding from the State Government.
“We started the program in the school holiday at first to get girls involved and now we run the program every term,” she said.
“We wanted to set up a program which was run by females, for females, where they can brush up on your skills in a fun, non-competitive environment.
“We started it for girls aged between seven and 13 who had never played before, and that was really successful. The participants would then ask us, ‘Please, can we have girls teams at Sorrento’, and it progressed from there.
“We had 131 girls join our program in the first year and the next year we managed to get full teams with waiting lists - 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s. Now have seven junior girls teams from nothing when we started, Sorrento had never had a girls team in 50 years, so we’re very proud of it.
“I got interviewed by Football Australia and they asked if they could include it in the Game Change program. It’s a brilliant achievement by everyone involved.”
Football West General Manager - Football Perry Ielati said: “Game Changer is a fantastic initiative from Football Australia, their new Club Development program, and the first module focuses heavily on women’s and girls’ football.
“Sorrento Football Club have done a great job in becoming the first club in Western Australia to achieve the One Star rating, but they certainly won’t be the last. We are looking forward to a lot more clubs working through the different modules. It is such a practical and easy-to-use system that benefits football clubs.
“Congratulations to Sorrento, it’s now about seeing how many clubs we can get into that program and who’s going to be the first to get to three stars.”
FIFA’s Madame Samoura said: “I’m here to say how important it is for FIFA to develop grassroots football, and also to award the Game Changer accolade to clubs who are part of the Football Australia Game Changer program, to use football as a unifier and an equaliser, because football has the power to unite and bridge the gap and promote gender parity.”
- Game Changer is Football Australia’s Club Development Program which aims to protect and enhance our clubs, make them stronger and more resilient, lead them in building welcoming and inclusive cultures, and educate them on positive environments for players, coaches, volunteers, and officials while planning for long term viability and success.