1970s

The First Women's Competition

Women’s football appears to have taken off in Mackay during the 1970s. The Daily Mercury reported that the local Women’s Season started in April of 1976 and that there were 8 teams participating (Comets, Wanderers, Panthers Pink, Panthers Black, Leos, Country United, D.M.P and Pacifics). There were also likely teams and matches before 1976. The Mackay Lions have a record of matches being played in 1975 and players from the 1970s Angie Durelli and Liz Zaeza confirmed this with us. Angie and Liz also told us that they started off playing in green t-shirts with their team name “Cats” written on with a felt pen and that they had learnt the rules from watching the men. The players at this time were mostly mothers so their kids were often watching the matches. In fact, Angie’s son ended up coaching their team. While they did receive some opposition from men at the time, this didn’t seem to faze the players. Liz told us, “I loved it, I just wanted to play soccer.” The first match the Mackay Lions recorded was played at Barbour Park and they noted that Angie Durelli played well in defence.

Lions Club Book 1975 Page - Women Begin Playing at Lions