Football NSW (Under 14B), Football Victoria (Under 14A) and Capital Football have all been crowned champions following the thrilling conclusion of the 2023 National Youth Championships Girls' Tournament at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
The conditions were perfect for the culmination of five days of high-quality competition from Football Australia's nine state and territory Member Federations. Over 190 goals were scored across the tournament which featured a total of 350 players from across Australia.
Three divisions produced three different champions, highlighting the depth of talent developing across Australia in women's football. Capital Football was victorious in the Under 14B division, Football Victoria won the Under 14A division before Football NSW claimed the Under 16 division.
Head coach of NSW Metro Under 16s and former CommBank Young Matilda (2015), Vic Guzman, praised her side's determination following their 5-0 triumph over Victoria.
"The girls have been good all week and they are a very special group," said Guzman.
"Victoria was quite disciplined, so it was nice to have a good clinical win and our girls showed up today. These girls in the next few years should be playing internationally and the future is very bright.
"Individually, they're all very good players, we selected this team based on the style we wanted them to play which was proactive possession-based football and this group should all be in contention for national selection."
The Under 14A Group Final had the packed stands at WIN Stadium rocking as the match went down to the very last second. Ultimately, Victoria got the better of NSW Metro by the slimmest of margins thanks to a brilliant penalty save from goalkeeper Anastasia Kyriacou.
Victoria's Under 14A Assistant Coach Annick Fokchak was proud of her side for the 2-1 victory, but also the Football Victoria Women's program for producing two finalists.
"It was a very nerve-wracking finish but the girls just stuck in, the effort was there, we had a great week, great tournament and they just got better with each game,' Fokchak said.
"I'm proud of the program, I'm proud of where Football Victoria is at. It's five years in the making of us building towards this where the girls and staff are, and it is a credit to everybody involved."
Their performance in the women's competition comes off the back of Football Victoria also winning the Under 15 and Under 16 Boys' Tournaments last week.
Capital Football capped off a strong tournament with their 3-2 win over Queensland Silver in a highly-competitive game from first to final whistle.
Head coach of the Capital Football Under 14B side Zoran Glavinic was proud of the entire group for rising to the occasion.
"We're extremely happy. The girls kept on going and going and going right to the end. Queensland have been a tough opponent all week and they showed that again today," Glavinic said.
"It's been a fabulous week. There's a lot of individual talent, but when you put them together, all 16 have done their jobs this week. And there's a couple of girls that have really shone and it showed today as well."
Capital Football also celebrated Tehya Espland being awarded the Under 14B Player of the Tournament by Technical Director of Women's Football & U17 WNT Head Coach , Rae Dower.
Clare Corbett from Football NSW was awarded the Under 14A Player of the Tournament for her outstanding performance.
CommBank Junior Matilda Sienna Dale was presented with the Under 16 Player of the Tournament following her dominant displays throughout the tournament.
Amalie Miller from Football Tasmania was presented with the Under 14B Goalkeeper of the Tournament award from Head of Goalkeeping & CommBank Matildas Goalkeeper Coach , Tony Franken.
Caoimhe (Keeba) Bray from Football Northern NSW was awarded the Under 14A Goalkeeper of the Tournament by Franken.
Before Lilly Dunn from Football Queensland received the Under 16 Goalkeeper of the tournament following her excellent performances.
Jessica Jensen and Joshua Throssell were presented with the Under 14 and Under 16 Referees of the Tournament, respectively from Lead Referee Coach, Danielle Anderson.
The girls tournament follows the conclusion of the boys' tournament last week bringing an end to the 2023 edition of the National Youth Championships held across Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood and WIN Stadium and JJ Kelly Park, Wollongong.
Football Australia would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the NSW Government, through the Office of Sport and Destination NSW along with Destination Wollongong.
Players of the Tournament:
Under 14 B: Tehya Espland, Capital Football
Under 14 A: Clare Corbett, Football NSW
Under 16: Sienna Dale, Football NSW
Goalkeepers of the Tournament:
Under 14 B: Amalie Miller, Football Tasmania
Under 14 A: Caoimhe (Keeba) Bray, Football Northern NSW
Under 16: Lilly Dunn, Football Queensland
Referees of the Tournament:
Under 14: Jessica Jensen, Football Queensland
Under 16: Joshua Throssell, Football West
Under 14 B Final:
Capital Football 3 def Queensland Silver 2
Capital Football: Eden Rodda (7'), Samantha Shae (43'), Tehya Aspland (47')
Queensland Silver: Emily Bailey (19'), Emily Bailey (58')
Under 14 A Final:
NSW Metro 1 def by Victoria 2
NSW Metro: Matilda Dis Wadewitz (8')
Victoria: Ella Lee (20'), Alexis Pantazopoulos (33')
Under 16 Final:
NSW Metro 5 def Victoria 0
NSW Metro: Skye Halmarik (4"), Sienna Dale (11'), Skye Halmarik (32'), Christina Kiceec (46'), Amelia Cassar (54')
Under 14 B Ladder
| Pos | Team | Win | Loss | Draw | For | Against | Difference | Points |
| 1 | Capital Football | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 13 |
| 2 | Queensland Silver | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Invitational XI | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | NSW Country | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 7 |
| 5 | Tasmania | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 5 |
| 6 | Northern Territory | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 14 | -10 | 3 |
Under 14 A Ladder
| Pos | Team | Win | Loss | Draw | For | Against | Difference | Points |
| 1 | NSW Metro | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 15 |
| 2 | Northern NSW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 | Victoria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | Western Australia | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Queensland Maroon | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 3 |
| 6 | South Australia | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 14 | -11 | 3 |
Under 16 Group B
| Pos | Team | Win | Loss | Draw | For | Against | Difference | Points |
| 1 | South Australia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 2 | Northern NSW | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 3 | Queensland Maroon | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | NSW Country | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 4 |
| 5 | Tasmania | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 0 |
Under 16 Group A
| Pos | Team | Win | Loss | Draw | For | Against | Difference | Points |
| 1 | NSW Metro | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 12 |
| 2 | Victoria | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 9 |
| 3 | Western Australia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 4 |
| 4 | Queensland Silver | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | -9 | 2 |
| 5 | Capital Football | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 1 |
