URUNGA FC have been the gold standard in women’s football on the Coffs Coast in recent years, winning the last two Grand Finals and topping the ladder.

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They play an attractive brand of possession football starting from the back and working the ball through the field with precision passing and movement which is applauded by the neutrals.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s Cup in Australia has resulted in additional funding for the women’s game and has become a hot topic of discussion on key subjects such as how to grow the game at grassroots level, pathways for elite players and the upgrade of facilities.

News Of The Area caught up with Urunga women’s coach, Trevor Martin to discuss the season ahead for last year’s champions.

“We ‘re looking to start our training next week to get the ball rolling ‘no pun intended’ and get an idea of how the squads will look, it always takes a bit of time to get the word out to any newcomers but I’m expecting to see a few new faces from younger age groups wanting to step up into the women’s team,” said Martin.

“Our first focus will be on getting organised for the Nambucca Challenge Cup competition where we have always done well and is another reason why we like to get started early,” said Martin.

Whilst attracting new players is a key initiative, retention of existing players is a common challenge for teams in the region.

“An issue we face is the likelihood of players moving out of the area to pursue educational and career opportunities, we had good numbers last year and a successful campaign in both grades so I’m hopeful we’ll retain a strong and talented core group going into the 2021 season, it’s always a bit of an unknown and creates a challenge in maintaining the team’s structure and playing style,” Martin said.

Although COVID-19 delayed the start of the Women’s 2020 season, football was one of the few sports which completed a full season and like everyone else Martin is looking forward to a smoother ride in 2021.

“I’m looking forward to a more normal season this year with the COVID restrictions on training and playing not being such an issue, having more clubs fielding Women’s teams will add interest to the competition,” added Martin.

“I’m quietly confident Urunga will carry on where we left off last season and we’ll be looking to do even better this time around, if we retain the core group I believe we will have an outstanding product going into 2021,” concluded Martin.

By David WIGLEY