Pride of the Lionesses

Coffs City United harbour ambition when it comes to their women’s football development – which is why they embraced Female Football Week (June 19-27) in the blink of an eye.
Club secretary Brett Hodgekiss said he had been focusing on the club’s female football program since 2017 – and sees merit in the week-long showcase.
The Lionesses are planning a series of initiatives over the nine days.
“Our 16s girls – they are aware of the senior women’s set-up and some of them are already playing up in 2nd Division, so now we’re trying to raise that awareness in our U/12s and U/10s,” Brett said.
To that end, the Under 10 girls will buddy-up and run out as ‘player mascots’ for the open women in their home game against Woolgoolga on June 26.
“The girls will form a tunnel for the players, act as ball girls and have a game at halftime,” he said.
The open women will also ‘give back’ to the club – running a special training session for the younger girls mid-week.
To further boost the connection, Brett said he would roll out a series of profiles on the senior women on the club’s Facebook page.
While the Female Football Week initiative is welcomed, Brett said the club’s focus in this area was across the year.
“We’re probably a couple of seasons away, but we’ll be up there with the (women’s 1st Division juggernauts) Urunga and Boambee,” Brett said.