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There aren’t many historical records of women’s football in Queensland (or Australia). That’s why our very own Lee McGowan and Fiona Crawford have written Never Say Die (2019). This history project has also relied heavily on The First 20 Years (1994) by Elaine Watson and Women’s Soccer in Queensland: In a League of it’s own (1997) from Women’s Soccer Queensland. We hope you find these brilliant resources useful:
Professor John Maynard, author of The Aboriginal Soccer Tribe and Professor of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Newcastle has stated that “Aboriginal people were playing ball games before 1788.” He goes on to explain, “one of these games was a keepy uppy game which connects with football. We were in essence playing with a football for possibly thousands of years” (source: NAIDOC Socceroos article). Maynard’s book, listed below, details the previously untold history of Aboriginal involvement with the ‘world game’.
In 2008, Sports Australia released Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games, a resource which outlines a selection of games and activities invented and played by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Read the full resource below.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the events presented in this digital history occurred and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their continuing connection to land and waterways as well as their rich history of sports and significant continuing contribution to football.