There were kids aplenty in Kiama on Thursday taking part in Sydney FC's Female Festival of Football event in preparation for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand later this year.
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At the time of the announcement of the event, Sydney FC set out with the aim of making it the largest participation festival event for junior girls (8-15 year olds) across NSW and possibly Australia.
Players taking part in the event in Kiama also received an A-League Women's season pass and got to meet Sydney FC's Shellharbour stars Jynaya and Indiana Dos Santos, as well as ALW stalwarts Ally Green, Tahlia Franco and Mary Stanic Floody.
Both of the Dos Santos sisters were in attendance for the event.
"It's really good to see all the girls here playing football," Jynaya told the Mercury.
"It's good for us to come down here to see everyone enjoying themselves and just see the next generation of women's football in Australia.
Jynaya added that it was great to see how far women's football had progressed even from when she was a junior not too long ago.
"[When we were growing up] we had Caitlin Foord as an example from our area. She was an inspiration and something like this is crucial for youth development."
"It's great to see all the girls and it just shows how far football has come for women. It's going so well and it's good to see that they're all inspired.
"We used to just play with boys. To see something like this with all girls teams is really good."
Sydney FC have had a long history of organising events that encourage participation for girls of all skill-levels and supporting the development of the women's game. Past events include the Sydney FC Cup, Girls Only Holiday Clinics and Girls Gala Days.
It has been a sensational two weeks for junior women's football in the Illawarra.
Football South Coast recently announced a new era in the sport for the region with the creation of an all-girls 'mini-roos' competition, meaning girls playing in the under sixes and sevens are not forced to play in mixed teams.
The festival comes just says after the Matildas scored a shock victory against old rivals England - who were unbeaten in their last 30 matches prior to the Australia game - in a World Cup warm up match in the UK.
The Women's World Cup kicks of in Australia on July 20 when the Matildas take on Ireland before facing Nigeria and then Canada in the group stages.
A-League Women's finals also kicks off this weekend with minor premiers FC taking on Western United in a grand final qualifier. Both Dos Santos sisters as well as Figtree's Mackenzie Hawkesby will be gunning for a spot in the decider following the side losing the past two finals.
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