Female Football Week is a nationwide initiative that celebrates the immense growth of women’s football and recognises the important role women play in developing football. In keeping with this year’s theme #WeRise, we would like to introduce you to an amazing woman who has risen up the ranks from a humble start at Billa Road to the heights of the A-League.
23-year-old Courtney Newbon is a Melbourne Victory goalkeeper, who made her A-League Debut in 2020 for Western Sydney Wanderers. Her football journey started at the age of 4 when her parents Trish and Russell signed her up with Bangor Football Club hoping it would help her make some friends in the area before she started school.
“Bangor is where my love for the game started” Courtney told us, “The community of the Club has always supported me“.
When Courtney joined Bangor Football Club in 2005, she was the only girl in her team, a trend that continued up until she joined the Sutherland Sharks WNPL team at the age of 10. It was at the Sutherland Sharks where Courtney chose to specialise as a goalkeeper. From there, her journey continued and, after spending 5 years in the Football NSW Institute program, she signed her first contract with an A-League Club at the age of 16.
Two years later, Courtney signed her first professional contract with the Western Sydney Wanderers and has since made appearances for Perth Glory and Central Coast Mariners. Now a member of Melbourne Victory, Courtney played her first A-Leagues Finals match as a starting goalkeeper in April this year.
While Courtney has aspirations of one day representing her country, her current priority is becoming the best player she can and focusing on the aspects of her career she can control. “Ultimately I do not make [those] decisions” she said “so by focusing on myself, my game and enjoying playing football, I can put my best foot forward”
When asked what she would say to someone starting out, Courtney told us “Enjoy it, I think this is the most important part. This is when you play your best, have the most freedom and ultimately it doesn’t last forever so it’s something you will always appreciate.” On a more technical side, she encouraged players to “focus on the basics and perfect them. The basics such as passing and first touch are done hundreds of times in every game.”
We hope our next generation of female footballers will find inspiration in Courtney’s story and we look forward to supporting them on their own football journey.
A big thank you to Courtney for making the time to speak with us!
Make sure to check out the rest of our Female Football Week content over on Facebook and Instagram.
