Bega Valley local, Amanda George, received her official Matildas ‘Baggy Green’ cap in front of a massive crowd at Australia’s 10-0 win over Uzbekistan at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Wednesday (February 28).
George, who was selected for the Matildas training squad in 1985 before being chosen for the team and playing in the 1987 Chinese Cup in Taiwan, told East Coast Radio it was a major thrill to be handed her cap in front of over 54,000 fans.
“I was lucky enough to walk out in front of that crowd and 37 years after I represented Australia, be presented with my numbered cap by Football Australia CEO James Johnson,” George said.
“We were invited to a VIP function beforehand and got to watch the game behind the glass with the best view you could have, then we were taken down into the dungeon, and driven around to the tunnel,” she siad.
“I got to walk up the tunnel and out onto an amazing scene of people yelling and cheering inside the stadium,” she said.
“It was absolutely amazing to walk out onto the field, be near the girls, and see all the fans jumping up and down and have little kids shake your hand afterwards, it’s probably something that you experience once in your life, if you’re lucky.”
The resident of Quaama, a small South Coast town near Cobargo, said there were a few reasons it took so long for her to be recognised.
“I did disappear from the scene for a while because I moved to an island off Queensland where there were no phones or television or anything, so I kind of fell off the earth as far as soccer was concerned,” George said.
“It was only when I was listening to the radio, I heard someone speaking about the encyclopaedia of Matildas that had come out, and I went and bought one and saw my name was in there, then somehow the author tracked me down and from there they connected me again with all of the old Matildas and Football Australia.”
George has lived on the Sapphire Coast for 14 years, after her sister found a nice property to retire at in Brogo, north of Bega, which resulted in “all of us coming down here”.
While she’s currently enjoying her work as a Calf Rearer at Platts Dairy who said she “wouldn’t last two seconds on the field now”, she admitted she does reflect on how dramatically women’s sport has changed since she was playing top level soccer.
“Back in 1987 there wasn’t much of a women’s sporting scene, we’d play in front of a crowd of 100 if we were lucky,” George said.
“Nowadays there’s 54,000 people in a stadium and 12 sold out games in a row which is just incredible,” she said.
“The Matildas are now famous and everybody wants to watch them.”
As for what she plans to do with her special new Matildas cap, Ms George said it was unlikely she would be wearing it to the Bega shops.
“I think I’ll be locking it up, I have a white cat and I don’t want to get cat hair on it, but maybe I’ll get a cabinet made for it.”
As for supporting our current day ‘Tillys’, George is bullyish about their chances at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
“I think they’ll do very very well,” George said.
“It was amazing to see 35-year-old Michelle Heyman perform so well,” she said.
After being brought in by coach, Tony Gustavsson, Heyman scored four goals in the first half, before being subbed off at half time as the homeside hero.
Until February, Heyman hadn’t played a game for the Matildas in six years and hadn’t scored an international goal in eight years.
“A taxi drived in Melbounre before the game said ‘why did they pick this 35-year-old’, well that’s why,” George said.
When asked if they should bring some of the older Matildas back for a run, Ms George laughed and said “Probably some of them but not me.”
The aggregate victory of 13-0 over the two-legged tie means that Australia has qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
And while excited about the national side (and getting to meet Cathy Freeman at the game), Ms George is just as, if not more so, passionate about local soccer.
“Hopefully we can get more women and girls playing on the south Coast,” Ms George said.
“Bega Devils didn’t have a womens side last year so I’d like to see that change.”
There has been a surge of local interest in soccer though – and with the recent success of the Matildas – a Bermagui-Cobargo Football Club in partnership with the PCYC Far South Coast is launching in April 2024.
Dickinson’s Oval in Bermagui will be the home of the new weekly winter league with learn-to-play Joeys activities for 5 to 7-year- olds, as well as six-a-side games for junior and senior men and women.
But the new club needs support to get the competition off the ground. It’s asking local people and businesses to donate to its ‘Support Local Football’ go fund me page to put towards essential equipment like first-aid-kits, balls, bibs and goals.
A Bermagui-Cobargo Football Club spokesperson said they hope the community can come together to create a vibrant and encouraging soccer community that fosters opportunities for fun, fitness, and friendship for multiple generations.
“Join us in bringing the world’s most beloved sport back to our community,” the spokesperson said.
“Every contribution, big or small, will make a difference in reviving soccer in our region so lets lace up our boots and kick off the journey together.”
Images: Amanda George
