It’s been a thrilling start to the Liberty A-League Women’s season and with three rounds now complete, Football Victoria (FV) is delighted to see that more Victorians have joined the already strong contingent of current and former FV Emerging/NTC players in Australia's premier women's competition.
FV would like to congratulate Francesca Iermano, Sophia Varley and Isabella Accardo who have signed for Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC respectively, and former FV NTC graduate Nia Stamatopoulos, who recently signed for Brisbane Roar FC and made her debut in Round 2 against Perth Glory FC.
Iermano a former junior at Essendon Royals, has been with the NTC Program in Victoria since the age of 14. Transitioning into a senior player at the age of 18 to Bulleen Lions, only to find her way back into the FV Emerging Matildas program for the last two years. We congratulate Franny in achieving her short term contract with Melbourne Victory for the 2021/22 season.
18-year-old Varley signed her first A League Women’s contract in 2021 with Melbourne City, but is yet to make her debut in the league. Growing up, Sophia played for Shepparton Junior Soccer Association and Goulburn Valley Suns FC, before joining the NTC program in 2016. She was then elevated into the FV Emerging Matildas program in 2021 and is now hoping to take the field during the A-League Women 2021-2022 season for Melbourne Victory.
Making her way to cross town rivals Melbourne City is youngster Isabella Accardo, who has signed a scholarship contract with the club for the 2021-2022 season. 16-year-old Accardo played her junior football with Manningham United Blues FC and FC Bulleen Lions, prior to commencing with FV’s NTC program where she continued to develop over the past three years.
It’s been fantastic to see so many Victorian players around the country applying their trade. As these players continue with their professional football careers, our next group of young Victorian footballing talents will join the FV Emerging Matildas Program to continue developing into the future generation of professional footballers. Training sessions have already begun, with many players being involved as train-on’s with Melbourne based A-League Women’s teams.
FV Technical Director Boris Seroshtan is pleased with the number of Victorian players transitioning through the program into the A-League Women’s competition and is looking forward to seeing the next group of young players progress into the FV Emerging Matildas squad.
“It’s an exciting year for the program. We’re now seeing the progression of players who have spent several years in the program securing professional contracts in the A-League Women’s competition.”
“With so many current and former players taking the next step into A-League Women’s and Senior NPLW clubs, we look forward to bringing in number of younger players who can progress into the FV Emerging Matildas program and continue their development over the next few years.”
Football Victoria wish all A-League Women’s clubs all the best for what has already proved to be, a very exciting season!