West Ham United’s ambassadors for the pre-season tour in Perth got a taste of World Cup fever this week at a special coaching session for dozens of young female stars of the future.
With the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicking off in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday 20 July, Carlton Cole, Richard Garcia and Taylor Tombides took time out from West Ham’s visit to Western Australia to lead a coaching session with the Under-13 Girls’ squad from Murdoch University Melville Football Club.
There was no hiding the excitement of the young players as they look forward to the Matildas’ opening game against the Republic of Ireland in Sydney on Thursday, with West Ham Women’s stars Mackenzie Arnold (pictured, below) and Izzy Atkinson set to line up on opposite sides for the Group B opener.
“There’s a huge buzz around the whole country at the moment with the Women’s World Cup coming”, said former Hammer Richard Garcia. “You can see the impact that it’s going to have not only with women’s football, but in general with the game in Australia. Football’s still got a long way to grow here, and the World Cup is just going to showcase that and highlight how good it really is.”
The Under-13s who took part in the Hammers coaching session do not have to look far for an example of where playing at this level can take you. The Matildas’ star striker Sam Kerr was a 12-year-old going to school in the grounds of Murdoch University when her goalscoring talent was first spotted, and is now looking to lead her country to glory in the biggest women’s tournament of all.
Many of her young fans were not thinking that far ahead as they were put through their paces by the trio of West Ham ambassadors this week, but with the women’s first team at Murdoch University Melville FC having won the Western Australian Premier League title twice in the past three years, the Under-13 Girls have every chance to progress in the game, as well as keeping fit and making friends.
Rosie Hames, Vice President for Women and Girls Football, was six years old when she joined the club’s MiniRoos development scheme for primary age players, and she has seen the growth of women’s football first hand in the sixteen years since, with eight teams now playing across all age groups.
“The session today has been great”, said Rosie. “It’s been a really awesome opportunity for the girls and they’ve all been so excited. It’s been fantastic.”
As a product of the West Ham Academy, Perth native Richard Garcia stressed the importance of the Club’s pre-season tours for inspiring young stars around the world to dream of a future playing in claret and blue in the Premier League or the Women’s Super League.
“These community visits really give the kids from Australia – and everywhere that West Ham goes – a sense of hope, not just to achieve more, but to continue loving the game and continue looking up to their idols. Getting a taste of that is fantastic for any young child wanting to play football.”
