Kicking goals for female football

FORMER Matildas captain Melissa Barbieri has delighted Corpus Christi Catholic School students with a coaching clinic at the Bellerive school as part of Female Football Week.

The week celebrates and promotes opportunities available to girls and women in football across Australia.

Barbieri believes the women’s game has grown in profile in recent times, thanks in part to the incredible form of the women’s national team.

“I think it’s thanks to the Matildas, but it’s also thanks to the rise of the W-League and more opportunities for girls to see that women can play football on a professional basis,” she said.

Barbieri played 86 games for the Matildas, including a record four FIFA World Cups between 2003-15, but it was an uphill slog at times.

“I had to fight a lot of the time to push myself to be able to play the sport. Now everyone can play and there’s no real barriers for these girls coming through,” she said.

“There’s a lot of pay increases and things like that, so now it’s an actual professional job.”

Barbieri will be in attendance as Female Football Week action continues at 7pm tonight, with the Hobart Zebras women’s team aiming to claim its fourth consecutive trophy in the Summer Cup final against South Hobart at KGV.

Zebras were to play Olympia Warriors, but the Warriors fielded an ineligible player in their 5-1 semi-final win over South and thus were deemed to have forfeited.