The rebel Female Football awards will be held on Friday, recognising the incredible contribution by both women and men in football at all levels of the game in Australia.
As well as highlighting work done by women at both Westfield W-League and Hyundai A-League clubs, it also shines a light on the unique stories and volunteers at Member Federation and grassroots level.
The awards are held in categories including Female Player of the Year, Female Coach of the Year, Female Administrator of the Year, Female Referee of the Year and Male Champion of the Year.
And today we’re looking at the nominees from Football South Australia.
Female Player of the Year - Sarah Denton
Sarah was new to Flinders Flames WFC this year and at just 19-years-old was voted as the Division 1 Team Captain. She has demonstrated strong leadership qualities reflected between the Division 1 and 3 squad in training sessions and game days, promoting player movement, development of the club’s rising stars and junior girls.
Sarah was awarded by her teammates as the club’s Most Valued Player and the Golden boot award recipient for Division 1. She always reinforces constructive and encouraging communication on and off the pitch, giving teammates invaluable guidance, confidence and support. She has also expressed her desire to further her knowledge of the game by undertaking the C License coaching course.
Female Coach of the Year - Mary Mavra
Mary this year stepped down as our WNPL assistant coach (where is she was involved in 1 WNPL championship & 2 WNPL League Premierships) to coach the Under 17s where Metro we have not had a great record with juniors. With her coaching team she developed the Under 17s into a double winning team in 2019 (Winning both cup and league) and has developed a number of players who had exposure to the club’s WNPL team in 2019. Mary has had a long involvement in female coaching in particular Junior coaching at the club and also at Raiders and Adelaide Olympic.
Female Administrator of the Year - Kerry Hudson
Kerry Hudson is a volunteer at the Modbury Jets Soccer Club and has been involved at the club as the Womens/Girls Development Officer. During her time at the club, the number of female players has grown from 18 to 150 players. She actively supports all female players and has delivered a program of skill acquisition for junior girls and developed team culture. She has developed playing pathways for juniors into the senior teams.
Kerry delivered a girls only training camp, running for 8 weeks during Oct/Nov 2019 with over 40 girls registering their interest. Kerry will always look to promote women and junior girls at committee meetings, ensuring that all club members get a say at the committee level.
Female Referee of the Year - Jackie Megson
Jackie is a registered Football SA player for Stirling Districts but is also a Football SA registered referee who is a part of the Adelaide Hills Referees Branch Committee in her role of AHRB Secretary. Jackie has had a standout season being selected to attend the FFA National Girls Championships, being appointed as Referee to the Under 16 Boys AHJSA Cup Final as well as Assistant Referee to the WNPL Grand Final and Cup Final.
Jackie also won the Football SA Rising Star award, an award which is given to a match official who has been identified as having the potential of making it the elite level. Jackie also still finds the time to mentor young referees in the Adelaide Hills region as well as act as a positive role model for other female officials.
Male Champion of the Year - Bruno Giovanniello
Bruno has demonstrated a level of excellence by taking a group of girls who mostly had never played football before to winning two championships all in the space of a two-year journey. Bruno motivated the girls each and every week and encouraged them to continually push themselves and strive to be fitter, faster and focused.
