FV Emerging Matildas ready to fire, thanks to Ultra Football

The FV Emerging Matilda’s squad will have an extra boost in the Nike FC Cup competition this weekend, after receiving custom Nike kits and the latest Nike Mercurial Dream Speed boots, ahead of a big test on Friday night.

The FV Emerging Matildas squad, who play in the NPL Womens and Nike FC Cup competitions as ‘FV Emerging’, received their custom kits and Nike Mercurial Dream Speed on March 31 at an exclusive event at Ultra Football.

The striking kits will be worn on Friday night, as they face 2019 Nike FC Cup and NPLW Champions, Calder United, in Round 3 of the Nike FC Cup.

It will be a herculean battle for the young squad, awaiting the return of several key players from the Westfield W-League competition.

Football Victoria Technical Director Boris Seroshtan believes that despite the difficult draw, the fixture will be a great opportunity for the team.

“The FV Emerging Matildas program provides a solution to addressing the Football Australia V Principle of “More football, more often: increasing match minutes for youth players and improving the player pathway”.

“The FV Emerging Matildas program is focused on giving Victorian young female players, who are playing in a Senior competition, more minutes on the pitch against quality opposition. Calder United are a class act and this will be a real opportunity for the girls to step up against some of the best players in this tournament.”

Helen Winterburn, Head Coach of the Emerging Matildas squad, echoed Seroshtan’s sentiments.

“Calder United have been a dominant force in women’s football but the girls are really excited for this sizeable challenge. With an average age of 17.2 in our squad for the game, the absence of some of our senior players opens the door up for others to get out on the pitch, to learn and to grow as players. We’re all looking forward to the challenge and would like to thank Ultra Football and Nike, not only for the fantastic apparel, but also for their ongoing commitment to female football.”

Established in 2019, FV’s Emerging Matildas program, formally endorsed by Football Federation Australia (FFA), was established to discover and prepare Victorian players for the Westfield Matildas. The program provides players an opportunity to train within a high-level professional environment, with the objective to bridge the gap into the Westfield Matildas.

The program promotes the production of youth players by providing opportunities for our elite players between U17-U23 to regularly obtain valuable match minutes, resembling their counterparts in Europe, to create a bigger talent pool of players (for National Teams) who are playing more match minutes every year.

Female football is on a thrilling trajectory in Victoria, heightened by this morning’s announcement that Melbourne has been selected as one of the host cities of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

There are opportunities for women and girls to play our game at all levels across Victoria. Find a club near you at playfootball.com.au or explore our social football options at gofootball.com.au