The women's game continues to grow in the Illawarra, with more opportunities emerging for females to play football.
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The Stingrays continue to produce a talented crop of promising players, the open's team second on the women's NPL ladder.
On Monday the club announced six juniors had been selected in the Western Sydney Wanderers Future Wander Women program.
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The selection, however, is a reminder of the biggest challenge girls from the Illawarra face in pursuing their football dreams.
Unfortunately, in order to play in Australia's highest competition, the W-League, females must leave Wollongong.
Much like the Wolves are attempting to provide a pathway for men to represent the region at the highest level, it's time for a women's team to be based in the Illawarra.
The path towards this is unclear, speculation continues to swirl over the prospect of a Wellington Phoenix W-League team.
That side has the potential to be based in Wollongong, alongside the club's A-League team, as Australia rides out the COVID wave.
Hopefully in the future, the next Caitlin Foord can be playing for an Illawarra-based W-League club.