Melbourne Victory recently welcomed the Federal Minister for Sport, the Hon. Anika Wells, to AAMI Park to celebrate the Club’s successful application for funding under the Australian Government’s $200 million Play Our Way program.
The Play Our Way program was established off the back of Australia’s successful hosting of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 to promote equitable opportunities for women and girls across all sports.
The aim of the grant is to support programs that address the barriers women and girls experience when participating in sport and physical activity.
Over 660 applications were received for the participation stream, with 70 programs across all sports, at all levels, being successful recipients and just 4 of those, being professional football clubs.
Visiting AAMI Park with local member for Macnamara, Josh Burns MP, Minister Wells met with Club representatives, including Melbourne Victory Managing Director Caroline Carnegie, A-League Women’s legend and goalkeeper Lydia Williams and Melbourne Victory community program participant Tesnim Beker, to discuss the Victory’s Women and Girls initiatives.
Speaking from a range of lived experiences, the visit centred on the need to ensure safe and welcoming spaces for women and girls to feel comfortable and to help those women and girls in turn establish strong connections to sport and their community.
“We were honoured to welcome MP Anika Wells to Melbourne Victory to discuss and celebrate the incredibly important work we are undertaking as a Club to provide more opportunities in football for women and girls,” Carnegie said.
“Our projects will provide a program that will have an immensely positive impact on not only participation in sport, but allow individuals to grow their social and leadership skills.
“At Melbourne Victory, we aim to lead, unite, connect and inspire through football, and the Play Our Way program allows for women and girls to connect and reach their potential.
“We look forward to seeing our programs and pathways continue to welcome new participants across Victoria.”
With the support of the Play our Way funding, Victory has a unique opportunity to build on its existing foundation of success in Women’s football and to facilitate a partnership-based program that will work across schools, communities and clubs to strengthen pathways and retention in football.
In addition to sessions that will increase participation in physical activity, the program will deliver workshops that help build leaders that change perceptions to ensure football is a more inclusive and welcome space for women and girls.
