Our Female Footballers Kicking Goals for all Women

As the Adelaide Crows AFL Women’s team prepares for an historic Grand Final at Adelaide Oval, it’s hard to escape media images of these elite athletes in action.

 Pictures and articles about these trailblazing footballers are splashed across online, print, radio and television.

 And that’s a great thing.

 Now more than ever, our young women need all the positive role models they can get.

 Despite the incredible advances of women across all disciplines – from the sporting arena to business, community and politics – there’s still a significant and persistent negative element within our society determined to push back.

 The recent sickening attacks on one of the AFLW’s stars by nameless trolls on social media was a case in point.

 Young women and young men will always need strong role models in their lives.

 Sadly, a person’s popularity on social media doesn’t guarantee their suitability for such a critical and influential role for our youth.

 With popular culture so dominated by questionable images of what it means to be female in modern society, it’s so important we instead focus on true values.

 How our sporting heroes conduct themselves off the field is therefore just as important as their performance on Game Day.

 This is also a critical consideration for any organisation looking to sponsor a sports team. The organisation I lead, Workskil Australia, chose to sponsor the Adelaide Crows AFL Women’s team in its first season. Our decision to subsequently renew for another three years was an easy one.

 We are a not-for-profit employment services provider and many of our clients are female, young and Indigenous job seekers. Often these women have been faced with many challenges during their personal lives, of which finding a job is just one.

 The Crows women footballers, who on Sunday will be vying for their second premiership in three years, exude focus and determination. They demonstrate the power of goal setting and never giving up.

 Their ultimate success is built on their ability to work as a complete team and be inclusive of people of all walks of life.

 These are the very characteristics common to successful people in any chosen field.

 It’s also the very traits we want to see fostered in our daughters and sons from an early age.

 These amazing footballers have already created sporting history and they continue to make a positive impression on so many people in this state.

 The Grand Final against Carlton is just the next chapter in this local success story.

 I’ll be there with my two young daughters cheering them on.

 Nicole Dwyer is the Chief Executive Officer of Workskil Australia, a sponsor of the Adelaide Crows Women’s AFL team.