2000s | With The Ball At Her Feet

2000s

Brisbane Roar

IN 2018, BRISBANE ROAR CELEBRATED A DECADE COMPETING AS A FOUNDING MEMBER IN THE WESTFIELD W-LEAGUE.

The team began life as Queensland Roar. In their first season (2008/09) they did ‘the double’ – becoming the first W-League Premiers and then beating Canberra United (2-0) in the 2009 W-League Grand Final.

At the start of the 2009 season, Brisbane’s premier women’s side changed their name to Brisbane Roar. Two more Queensland sides, Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury (both now folded), joined the A-League.

Ballymore Stadium was the Roar’s first home ground, but they played games at Perry Park, Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, A.J. Kelly Park, Stockland Park and Cleveland Showgrounds.

They were champions (08/09) and twice grand final runners up (2009, 2011/2012). They won premiers (08/09) and premier runners up (10/11 and 11/12). Jeff Hopkins, who played in England and represented Wales, was the first coach.

Belinda Wilson took over Brisbane Roar in 2012 as Australia’s third top tier female coach. She followed a Grand Final win in her first season (2012/13) and Runners up in her second. While Brisbane’s first female coach’s tenure did not ring with the success Roar fans had come to expect Belinda Wilson oversaw a period of transition within the squad.

The current squad includes 6 Matildas and some experienced imports (from the US, Hong Kong, New South Wales, the ACT, and Victoria), but it is dominated by local talent. We reckon it’s the reason they’re so good. It’s also because Mel is such an excellent coach.

BRISBANE ROAR ARE HAVING ONE OF THEIR BEST SEASONS UNDER MELISSA ANDREATTA'S GUIDANCE.

Melissa Andreatta became Brisbane Roar’s coach in 2016. She’s also Assistant Coach of the Matildas. Even better still she’s a local. She began her playing career at Taringa Rovers, which quickly led to rep football for the City and State. Turning coach, she started at the Gap Football Club. She also coaches at Queensland’s National Training Centre (NTC), is heavily involved in State Team programs and, when she has time, teaches football at Cavendish Road football school of excellence.

Melissa Andreatta

Football Queensland

Football Queensland (FQ) is the governing body for association football (soccer) across Queensland. As a member of the Football Federation of Australia, they are affiliated with FIFA. They now oversee football in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay, Mackay, and South West, North, North West, South and Far Nth Qld, but they began life as the Anglo-Queensland Football Association in Brisbane, in 1884. They’ve toiled under a range of names, including the Qld British Football Association (1890-1919), the (far-sighted) Queensland Football Association (1920-1927) and the Soccer Council.

Since 2005, they’ve been responsible for the game across the State, which includes semi-professionals, amateurs, youth team players, juniors, referees and, of course, women’s football. With so much responsibility it’s little wonder they’ve been around for so long.

Football Brisbane

In 2007, all of the Brisbane soccer bodies (Brisbane Men’s Football, Brisbane Women’s Soccer, Brisbane North & Districts Junior Soccer Association, Brisbane Southern Districts Junior Soccer Association and Soccer Australia Referees (Brisbane)) amalgamated to form Football Brisbane.

Peter Eedy, Brisbane football’s foremost historian, has researched and written a detailed and engaging history of football in Brisbane. It’s fascinating. It is mostly about the men though.

Among it’s close to 30,000 members spread across 76 clubs and the 2290 teams, football brisbane has 5784 female players registered. In recent years, they’ve successfully engaged a commercial sponsor, a first for women’s football in the city, and increased their commitment of resources to promoting the women’s game. The local game has come a long way. In 1976, SQWSA registered 1070 players across a much larger geographical area.

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