My unforgettable experience volunteering at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023

Like for many of us, from football tragic to the uninitiated, the recent FIFA Women's World Cup? swept me away. Much has been said about the resounding success and cultural impact that this tournament - the largest women's sporting event in history - has laid bare on football in Australia and women's sport globally. A lot of this is still playing out and will continue to be felt for years to come.

Along with living that beautiful, wild, inspiring and all-consuming month of football with the rest of Australia, cheering on our Matildas, I also sought out the opportunity to volunteer at the tournament. I've written this article to serve as both a reflection and record, while giving an insight into my experience delivering a small but meaningful aspect of this incredible event.

Earlier this year, I put my hat in the ring for a volunteer role at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Sydney. While I'd never volunteered at a major event before, the prospect of not only attending as a spectator but contributing to and participating in the delivery of a World Cup (!) on home soil was very alluring.

Fast forward some months, several online forms, and a virtual group interview later, I was offered the role as a Youth Programme Volunteer in Sydney. Stoked!

As I soon discovered, this was a role at the heart of each match day. Over the course of the month-long tournament I volunteered on 9 match days, including two Matildas matches, a Semi and the Grand Final.

There were a huge number of volunteer roles available (30+), each varying in scope and responsibilities. Some of the volunteer functions included:

• Drivers - darting around the host cities transporting FIFA and event staff
• Catering - keeping the workforce fed and happy
• Ticket Resolutions - dealing with all the ticket issues (not an enviable role!)
• Access Management - friendly faces directing the public around stadia
• Anti-Doping - assisting with player anti-doping procedures
• Human Rights - monitor/survey on Match Days for human rights concerns
• Team Base Camp - assisting teams at their base camps in host cities
• And this is only scratching the surface...

In total, there were over 5000 volunteers involved in the delivery of the tournament across Australia and New Zealand. 1117 of those were in Sydney as the largest host city, and 6 in the Youth Programme team (including me!).

While the allocation of the roles appeared largely random, a common thread amongst those chosen for the Youth Programme Team was that we all had some experience working with children. For me, this experience came from my year and a half spent working as an English teacher in the Spanish public school system. Others in the team included a Childrens Hospital worker, a High School Teacher and junior Football coaches.

In a nutshell, we were responsible for overseeing the pre-match ceremony children. These were the Mini Mates (little ones that walk out with the players), Flagbearers (holding the country and FIFA flags), and Ball Kids. Our day would begin 6 hours prior to kickoff (KO - 6h) and wrap up shortly following the match.

Here's a rundown of what our typical Youth Programme day would involve:

• KO - 6h: Arrive at Stadium for briefing with the Youth Programme Coordinator and team. Run through roles and responsibilities for the day, and address any last minute changes, challenges or accommodations to be made (e.g. accessibility, we had a child in a wheelchair at one match).

• KO - 5h: Lollipop go time. Head outside the stadium to meet and greet the youth programme participants and their chaperones, escorting them in and setting everyone up in the change room, our base for the next 5 hours. Lots of smiles, energy and positive vibes were key here. We had kids that travelled hours from the regions, interstate, and sometimes overnight to participate, so making their experience exceptional was a big deal.

• KO - 4h30: Receive a briefing from the Stadium Match Director and straight out onto the pitch for rehearsals. This is where we'd do a full run through of the pre-match ceremony. A lot of direction goes into making sure those flags are angled upright, tight and look good for the millions watching around the world. Here is where the volunteers would also get to be 'fake players' and walk out with the mini mates as we prepped them for showtime - a personal highlight of mine.

• KO - 3h30: Back to the change rooms for meal time. 60 kids + chaperones to be fed by our catering team each match day. A lot of mess and rubbish collection to be done (no it's not all glamourous - remember I'm only sharing the highlights here!)
• KO - 2h30: Uniform fitting & hangout/games time. I would usually take 'shoe shop' duty. Once everyone was fitted and ready, it was a matter of staying entertained until we were ready to head out. While the teenagers were good at entertaining themselves (more often than not with TikTok), we had a whole heap of board games and colouring in for the little ones.

• KO - 50m: Ballkids head out to the pitch for player warm up and we do final uniform checks in the change rooms. Jackets on, collars zipped up, mini mate shoelaces tied.
• KO - 25m: Almost go time and peak excitement/nerves hitting now. Final preparation, reminders, and motivational speeches in the change room before making our way silently out into the tunnel to await the players. This was a highly sensitive zone as we were directly outside the teams changing rooms with players passing as they returned from warm up.

• KO - 15m: Kids lined up and the teams emerge. Everyone is silent now here except for the teams - some would banter or joke amongst one another, while others were quiet and serious. Most players would greet their Mini Mate and exchange a word or two. The best team I saw with this was Panama - they were all laughing and playing with the kids and THEN went out and scored this banger 5 mins later (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mSYi4C0Km0). We had a couple of close calls here - on two occassions the Mini Mates were standing too tightly together, meaning some were not paired with a player when they came out. This would have meant players walking out and lining up on TV without a mini mate (literal disaster scenario for us). In one of these instances, after a few panicked looks between the the Youth Programme Coordinator and I only 30 seconds until they left the tunnel, I had to break the cone of silence, approaching the players and mini mates, pulling, pointing, and pairing them up one by one. Awkward but disaster averted.
• KO - 5m: After the players left the tunnel, two of us volunteers would then rush to the pitch to stand by the corner flags while the anthems played. Following the ceremony, we would then wave the kids towards us and escort them to the changerooms before heading upstairs to join their parents and watch the match.

• Once we'd shuffled the kids up to their seats and returned to the changerooms to clean up, that was about it for Youth Programme duty! We'd then find somewhere to watch the game, either from the concourse at SFS, or from our ticketed seat at SAS.

Looking back on it, the month flew by. Nobody could have predicted the incredible support and interest the tournament would receive. The days were long, with early starts and late finishes, but absolutely worth it and made even better by the amazing Youth Programme team I worked with. We were an odd bunch - different ages, backgrounds, professions and experience. However all of this simply translated into unique strengths that we each brought to the role, and came to appreciate about one another over the course of the tournament. We were a team.

Upon reflection, I was very lucky with the role I was given. It was an absolute privilege to play even a small part in what will be a moment all of these kids remember for the rest of their lives.

This role brought together two of my passions - football, and working with and empowering youth. I truly believe in volunteering as an outlet for living your values and purpose outside of your professional persona/work life. I encourage anyone reading this to think about what motivates you and where you can afford to give up some time for a cause you're passionate about.

I would also like to acknowledge here, the now well-documented business conduct issues faced by the organisation running this tournament. Given this, it's fair to say that if I had received any other role that was less aligned to my interests, it's unlikely I would have participated. I have friends who also applied but unfortunately weren't as lucky with their roles and so chose not to volunteer.

Without a doubt, this tournament was run on the backs of the passionate 5000+ unpaid volunteers and the hard-working locally hired FIFA staff behind the scenes, many of whom had work contracts of only 1 month in duration.

Now, my top 3 FIFA Women's World Cup? moments (excl. the Matildas triumphs because nothing tops that):

1. COL vs GER: Experiencing the roar of the Colombian crowd as their national anthem rang out at Sydney Football Stadium is a moment I will never forget. Standing pitchside as I waited to escort the kids off from the pre-match ceremony, the stadium exploded with the sound of 20k+ Colombian fans singing their hearts out. The resulting match, with a Linda Caicedo worldie, the late German equaliser, and a Colombian winner in extra time to send the stands into pure delirium made this my #1 spectator match of the tournament. Link to relive the anthem here (try spot me by the far corner flag): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udZX1WDiK9o
2. AUS vs DEN: Experiencing the pure contagious elation of the Mini Mates after walking out with their idols, the Matildas. I had the job of escorting the kids that were lucky enough to walk out with the Matildas, back to the change rooms for the Round of 16 clash. These kids were absolutely over the moon - "I had Mary!" - "Sam said she liked my hair!!" - "I got Steph, she's my favourite!". When we passed through the players tunnel to return we usually had to stay very quiet and calm... well that went out the window this time. Children screaming, running, security guards staring. But the smiles on their faces were absolutely golden and everyone understood that in that moment, these were the luckiest kids in the country.
3. 20 mins pre-match, every match: When the significance of the moment would dawn prior to showtime. It was around the KO - 20m mark when you'd notice it. The stadium outside was buzzing and filling up, as we made the hushed walk from our change room down the players tunnel, prior to lining up. Some would go silent, others get jittery and anxious, as the reality of the moment sunk in. Often nerves, but mostly EXCITEMENT.At the end of the day, despite all the process, rehearsals, uniforms, hours waiting, and nagging from the staff and volunteers to ensure the kids knew their roles, this was about them and their opportunity to live a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We had 600+ youth through our changerooms in Sydney, all of whom have left with a memory for life - that's what it's all about.

And that's all! Here's a short clip from Eli at COPA90 that captures the beauty that was this Womens World Cup that I also wanted to share. Goosebumps.

Until the next one! (y ?viva Espa?a!)

https://twitter.com/Copa90/status/1695787577423376432