{"id":7828,"date":"2025-07-20T06:52:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T06:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/7828\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T06:52:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T06:52:53","slug":"future-stars-shine-as-commbank-emerging-matildas-championships-conclude-in-sydney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/7828\/","title":{"rendered":"Future stars shine as CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships conclude in Sydney"},"content":{"rendered":"

NSW Sky and Victoria Blue have claimed national honours at the 2025 CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships which\u00a0celebrated the next generation of Australian talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Capping off a thrilling week of football at Valentine Sports Park in Sydney,\u00a0spectators witnessed the crescendo of an action-packed week featuring teams from all nine of Football Australia\u2019s Member Federations and international guests Malaysia. Over the six days, 280 goals were scored in what is a testament to the attacking flair and promise on display from Australia\u2019s next generation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro presented the championship trophies alongside\u00a0Interim CEO Heather Garriock and a strong contingent of National Team staff and coaches who had been keeping a close eye on all the emerging talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the Under 15 Championship Final, NSW Sky secured back-to-back titles at the tournament with a dominant 4-1 victory over Northern NSW. Doubles from Jada Taylor and Tessa Young spurred the side to victory with Northern NSW collecting a late consolation goal through Matilda Fleming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the Under 16 Championship Final, NSW Sky and Victoria Blue held a contest which kept those in attendance and the thousands watching on KommunityTV on the edge of their seats. NSW Sky hadn\u2019t conceded a goal all tournament until the 26th minute of the Championship Match when Victoria Blue\u2019s Alexis Pantazopoulos found the back of the net. The match remained in the balance with the final whistle eventually revealing the Victorians as winners in a tight 1-0 contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s matches were the conclusion of the 2025 CommBank Emerging Championships. The event brought together the nation\u2019s top young male and female players who had the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of National Team coaches, while also gaining valuable education across all aspects of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Victoria
\nVictoria Blue celebrate winning the CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

Quotes attributable to Football Australia Interim CEO, Heather Garriock:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships continue to deliver more football and better football \u2014 providing meaningful match minutes, national exposure, and a proven springboard to senior international honours. Players like Mackenzie Arnold, Ellie Carpenter, and Kyra Cooney-Cross have all come through this platform.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis week, over 700 players and team staff from all nine Member Federations \u2014 together with our guests from Malaysia \u2014 have taken part across two age groups, demonstrating the depth and diversity of emerging talent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been invaluable having all our national women\u2019s team coaches present \u2014 including Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro \u2014 providing players with a direct opportunity to be seen and assessed as part of a connected national pathway. The Perkins XI adds another important step in that pathway, helping identify talented players with the potential to progress further.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also acknowledge the families, friends, and volunteers who make this journey possible. Their commitment is the backbone of our football community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is for the Championships to remain Australia\u2019s leading talent identification event, while continuing to evolve the educational and development support for players, coaches, and officials alike.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quotes attributable to NSW Sky Under 15 Head Coach, Spencer Prior:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am really proud of the girls and the way that they improved each day in terms of what we were asking them to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA performance like that in the final, where they really didn’t get near us and we controlled the game with and without the ball, is what we are really looking to do so I am super proud of the way they’ve applied themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one is really special. These girls have got three to five years of nationals ahead of them to cement their development and get into youth national teams.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese Championships have been amazing. It’s been phenomenal have in Malaysia here and to have the understanding of how you play against overseas opponents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quotes attributable to Victoria Blue Under 16 Head Coach, Santiago Escudero:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to congratulate all the organisers. They have done great work with this tournament and it\u2019s been a fantastic experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have played nice football during the tournament. We changed mentality and we came here to be competitive and to win the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, 90% of our success is coming straight from the girls and all their professionalism and commitment. This is a fantastic and mature group. I can\u2019t take too much credit; they are just outstanding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, NSW Navy and Queensland Maroon claimed third place in the Under 15 and Under 16 Bronze Medal playoffs respectively, setting the tone for an exciting day with both matches requiring penalties to decide a winner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following the Finals, individual awards were presented, with Football Australia coaches and officials recognising standout performers across a range of categories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The newly introduced Fair Play Awards were presented by Tournament Director and General Manager of Competitions, Ezel Hikmet:<\/p>\n

\"Capital
\nCapital Football receive the Under 15 Fair Play award from Tournament Director and General Manager of Competitions, Ezel Hikmet. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

\"NSW
\nNSW Country receive the Under 16 Fair Play award from Tournament Director and General Manager of Competitions, Ezel Hikmet. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

Referee Lead for the Championships, Danielle Anderson, presented the Referee of the Tournament awards:<\/p>\n

\"Referee
\nReferee Lead for the Championships, Danielle Anderson, presented the Referee of the Tournament award. Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n


\nReferee Lead for the Championships, Danielle Anderson, presented the Referee of the Tournament awards. Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Coach of the Tournament awards were presented by General Manager of Coach Education and Futsalroos Head Coach, Miles Downie:<\/p>\n


\nGeneral Manager of Coach Education and Futsalroos Head Coach, Miles Downie presetned the Coach of the Tournament awards. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

\"General
\nGeneral Manager of Coach Education and Futsalroos Head Coach, Miles Downie presetned the Coach of the Tournament awards. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

CommBank Junior Matildas Head Coach Michael Cooper presented the Championship Final MVP awards:<\/p>\n

\"CommBank
\nCommBank Junior Matildas Head Coach Michael Cooper presented the Championship Final MVP awards. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

\"CommBank
\nCommBank Junior Matildas Head Coach Michael Cooper presented the Championship Final MVP awards. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

Head of Goalkeeping and CommBank Matildas Goalkeeper Coach, Tony Franken, and CommBank Junior Matildas Goalkeeper Coach Trudy Simmons, presented the Goalkeeper of the Tournament awards:<\/p>\n

\"Head
\nHead of Goalkeeping and CommBank Matildas Goalkeeper Coach, Tony Franken presented the Under 16 Goalkeeper of the Tournament. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

\"Head
\nCommBank Junior Matildas Goalkeeper Coach Trudy Simmons presented the Under 15 Goalkeeper of the Tournament. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

Former Subway Socceroo and Football Australia GM of Player Development & Pathways, Josh Kennedy, presented the Golden Boot awards:<\/p>\n

\"Football
\nFootball Australia GM of Player Development & Pathways, Josh Kennedy, presented the Golden Boot awards. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

\"Football
\nFootball Australia GM of Player Development & Pathways, Josh Kennedy, presented the Golden Boot awards. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

CommBank Executive Manager of Brand Partnerships, Tasmine Heath, presented the CommBank Player of the Tournament awards:<\/p>\n

\"CommBank
\n\"CommBank
\nCommBank Executive Manager of Brand Partnerships, Tasmine Heath, presented the CommBank Player of the Tournament awards. Photo Misch Bocska\/Football Australia<\/p>\n

Heather Garriock, Michael Cooper and CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro then presented silver and gold medals to all players, coaches, and match officials from the Championship Finals.<\/p>\n

Football Australia would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Events like this wouldn’t be possible without the valuable support and commitment of family, friends, event staff and volunteers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under 15 Championship Final:\u00a0
NSW Sky 4 def Northern NSW 1
NSW Sky: T. Young (5\u2019),\u00a0T. Young (14\u2019), J. Taylor (24\u2019), J. Taylor (42)
Northern NSW: M. Fleming (59\u2019)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under 16 Championship Final:\u202f\u00a0
NSW Sky 0 def by Victoria Blue 1
Victoria Blue: A. Pantazopoulos (26\u2019)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NSW Sky and Victoria Blue have claimed national honours at the 2025 CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships which\u00a0celebrated the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,7798,7799,952,596,7797,85],"class_list":["post-7828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-emerging-championships","tag-emerging-matildas-championships","tag-featured","tag-football","tag-football-australia-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}