As the FIFA Women's World Cup draws near, interest in the Football Far North Coast All-Girls Miniroos continues to grow with a 44 teams nominated for the 2023 season.

Football Far North Coast have a plan to introduce the opportunity for the youngest girls (teams) to play on a Sunday morning (where reasonable), to align with the competition age girls (12’s to 16’s), who mainly play on a Sunday.

The further logic is to manage the logistical issues of field availability, as it is already very difficult to schedule fixtures for a Saturday morning in many cases.

The reason that girls (and senior female) football has been scheduled for a Friday night or Sunday (over many decades), is (on part) linked to increased female participation and the evidence is strong that many girls feel more comfortable participating in a female environment.

It is recognised that scheduling every all-girls miniroos fixture for a Sunday may not always be realistic, however FFNC will formulate a schedule in 2023, based around this model.

There may also be an opportunity for clubs to engage in ‘mini’ Gala mornings in some instances, to further create a connection between the youngest females at respective clubs.

Several initiatives exist to promote female participation and FFNC highlight that female participation (all ages) in FFNC is approximately 32% of total player numbers and in this, the year of the Women’s World Cup, there is much to celebrate.

With our nearest capital city, Brisbane hosting a number of matches in the World Cup, it is a great opportunity to see the greatest female players in the world on our doorstep.

Seven matches will be played in Brisbane, with the first match between England and Haiti scheduled for Saturday 22 July.

The Matildas play Nigeria on Thursday 27 July, with Brisbane also hosting finals action from Monday 7 August with a Quarter Final.

The 2023 senior season continues this weekend, with juniors returning on the weekend of the 28/29/30 April and the exciting Miniroos competition commences on the weekend of 29/30 April.