On the eve of the ninth FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) celebrates the ten Matildas of the 23 member squad who are NSWIS alumni.

“This is the biggest Women’s World Cup ever and it’s awesome to see so many NSWIS players getting the chance to be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity to represent Australia at a home World Cup,” said NSWIS High Performance Manager Vicki Linton, who was also the Assistant Coach for the Matildas at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Among the NSWIS alumni are players Alanna Kennedy (NSWIS scholarship holder 2009 – 2013), Caitlin Foord (2009 – 2013), Emily van Egmond (2009 – 2013), Kyah Simon (2009 – 2013) and Ellie Carpenter (2018), household names and invaluable members of the squad.

“Emily, Kyah, Alanna and Caitlin have been members of the national team for over 10 years. They have come through the youth ranks together in junior national teams and have racked up over 100 caps for the Matildas now and will be playing at their third or fourth World Cup,” said Linton. 

“Ellie, still only 23, has experienced so much already. This will be her second World Cup and she has done an amazing job returning to play after suffering an ACL injury while playing for her club team Lyon in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in 2022.  

“Kyah is also returning from an ACL injury but selected by Head Coach Tony Gustavsson to be a game changer off the bench.” 

More recently on scholarship and representing Australia at the World Cup are Cortnee Vine (2018 – 2019), Courtney Nevin (2018 – 2021), Kyra Cooney-Cross (2018 – 2021), Charlotte Grant (2019 – 2021) and Clare Hunt (2019).  

“All of these players were part of the Future Matildas program which was set up in 2018 and supported in the initial years by NSWIS. The program provided them a professional fulltime daily training environment that prepared them to successfully step into the Matilda’s squad and to now be making their World Cup debut on home soil.   

“All of these players have played a significant number of international games over the last couple of years with Kyra, Cortnee and Clare very possibly getting the chance to be in the starting XI and Courtney and Charli showing they can make an impact when called on.” 

Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria and Canada are in Group B and Australia plays against the Republic of Ireland at 8pm AEST Thursday 20 July at Sydney Olympic Park.  

“It’s a really tough group, some are calling it the Group of Death, but I think the Matildas are in a good place leading into the first game. They come off a confidence building win against France last week as well as a great record over the past year, beating top European teams including England, Spain, Sweden and Denmark.  

“The team is gelling, the core of the team has so much experience now at international level and in club football and I believe that if there is any pressure from playing at home it will be used in a positive way and they will love playing in front of such amazing support.  

“Many of them were in England to see England win the Euros last year and it has left an impression on them. They want to experience that too – winning on the field as well as seeing the impact it had off the field on the country. 

“What I do know about the Matildas is they will always give everything they have, play with passion, be exciting to watch and make us proud!” 

The tournament has grown from 12 teams in 1991 to a 32 team tournament this year. The legacy of the event is undeniably long lasting with significant growth across the women’s game as well as grassroots football. 

“Our high performance athletes are incredibly important in inspiring more people to participate in sport. Not only does this have a positive impact on health and the economy but provides a wider talent pool for future high performance athletes,” NSWIS CEO Kevin Thompson said.  

“NSWIS offers its support and best wishes to the Matildas.”

Frances Cordaro, NSWIS 

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