With the FIFA Women's World Cup just six short months away, it is time for young aspiring athletes of the Illawarra and Australia to start getting ready for the biggest sporting show on the planet, according to former Figtree junior and current Sydney FC star Mackenzie Hawkesby.
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It was revealed on Tuesday that more than 500,000 tickets had already been sold for the tournament, which begins on July 20.
Hawkesby - who has a shot of being selected in the Matildas World Cup squad herself - said she was incredibly excited for the tournament to be just around the corner and she was even slightly envious of the opportunity young aspiring footballers had in 2023.
"It's huge. Over the last couple of years women's football has progressed but especially this year it's a massive year for women's football," she told the Mercury.
"I think the more participation we get, then the more quality we will get in the coming years. You can see the likes of Caitlin Foord who's playing for Arsenal in England will be probably playing at the World Cup from Wollongong so there's a lot of positives from that and people need to continue to participate.
"Especially on the South Coast we need to get behind it and start buying tickets and getting invested in it."
Hawkesby has been enjoying a stellar run of form in the heart of Sydney's midfield this season. The side currently sits third with a game in hand on second-placed City on the A-League Women's table.
Despite a slight bump in the road - a two-nil loss to current leaders Western - at the weekend, the 22-year-old is a real potential to be named in the Matildas squad.
She is joined in the Sydney squad by fellow Illawarra products Jynaya and Indiana Dos Santos. Whilst neither of Shellharbour siblings have got an array of first team action as of yet, Hawkesby had nothing for praise for their performances in training.
"They have been excellent," Hawkesby added.
"It's so good to have girls in the team from down on the South Coast and see how much they've progressed in the last six to eight weeks. They are doing so well and it's really exciting to see people from down here doing really well."
The Matildas will kick-off their World Cup campaign on July 20 against Ireland. The match was scheduled to be played at the recently re-vamped Allianz Stadium but there have been talks of the match being moved to the larger Olympic Stadium in order to maximise ticket sales.
The side will then face Nigeria on July 27 in Brisbane before rounding out their group against Canada in Melbourne on July 31.
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Jordan Warren
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
