Westfield Junior Matildas – LAOS 2019

Throughout March, the Junior Matildas soccer team toured the Lao People’s Democratic Republic for the AFC U16 Women’s Championship Qualifiers.

The team enjoyed discovering the region whilst participating in a series of qualifying matches, where they went head-to-head with teams from Vietnam, Laos and Iran.

After an exciting 3-0 win over Iran, the Junior Matildas need a top two finish in the Laos pool to advance to the 2019 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship, which takes place in September this year.

Representatives from the Junior Matildas and Lao Football Federation talked about women in sport at panel discussions organised by the Australian Embassy to celebrate International Women’s Day in Vientiane.  Panellists included Head Coach Rae Dower, Junior Matildas Emma IIijoski and Nia Stamatopoulos and Lao Football Federation Head of International relations, Keo Phawadee.

A highlight of the tour was the joint skills clinic for Laos girls who are recipients of Australian Government education scholarships in Vientiane.

It is wonderful to see our Junior Matildas on the international ASEAN stage, and the ongoing commitment of Football Federation Australia and the Australian Government to, providing enriching sports diplomacy programs in the region.