Since officially launching in metro and regional areas earlier in the year, the Female Next Generation Academy has seen great success in developing talented young females and providing them with potential pathway opportunities in the future.

The curtain raiser was a culmination of various participants across the state being provided with an opportunity to showcase their talent on the biggest stage and warming up the field before some of their role models.

The 34 metro and regional girls were filtered into two mixed teams, and squared off in a match that went down to the wire with the blue-team edging out the win by 2-points.

Academies Coordinator Chad Morrison said the curtain raiser couldn’t have gone better and was thrilled to have seen the hard work all the girls have put in as part of the academy pay off with a terrific match.

“It was ground-breaking day for our program, it is great reward for our regional and metro academies to come together and provide these great opportunities for females in our areas,” he said.

“There was some outstanding talent shown by many of the girls today, this just highlights the growth of female football and the benefits of our programs. Not to name anyone, but there are some definite AFLW stars of the future.”

The regional players have been developing through the Club’s regional academy programs, with girls from the Pilbara, Goldfields, Wheatbelt, South West and the Great Southern travelling to Perth to showcase their skills.

Morrison highlighted how important the curtain raiser was in connecting the program as a whole, allowing girls from across regional WA to connect and play with one another, whilst also further building the connection to the metro program.

“It’s very important for our club to connect our regional players with these metro opportunities. We want to provide our regional families good local programs so they can trust our academies and don’t have to travel far and wide across WA to get these regular opportunities.”

“Planning for 2024, we will be running regular 4-week programs throughout the year leading into games regionally and metro curtain raiser games at Optus Stadium and Mineral Resources Park, plus possible AFLW Academy programs for top end talent.

The West Coast Eagles are proud of our partnership with BHP and their support going forward continues to allow the next generation of female footballers with pathway opportunities across WA.