Football Australia has unveiled the ParaMatildas, the first national team for women and girls with cerebral palsy (CP), acquired brain injury and symptoms of stroke.
The announcement was made on the eve of International Women's Day and coincides with the 500-day countdown to Australia's co-hosting of the FIFA 2023 Women's World Cup.
Georgia Beikoff has been playing football since she was in kindergarten, but she turned to track and field — in which she won bronze in the F37/38 javelin at the 2012 Paralympics — because there was no national team to strive for in the round-ball game.
Beikoff said representing Australia in football was an ambition she thought she would never realise.
"It's indescribable," she told The Ticket.
CP football is a seven-a-side sport, which uses smaller goals and has no offside rule. It is played across 30-minute halves.
The ParaMatildas will head into camp for the first time in April to prepare for the inaugural International Federation of CP Football Women's World Cup, which will be contested in Spain in May.
"I competed in javelin in athletics when I was 19 and came back [from the Paralympics] with a bronze medal, which was a massive surprise but football's always been my first love," Beikoff said.
"There's something about the beautiful game [football] that just makes my heart pump … it's very exciting."
Focus on visibility
Former Matilda Sarah Walsh is now the head of legacy programs built around Australia and New Zealand's co-hosting of next year's FIFA Women's World Cup.
Walsh said it was important to offer the ParaMatildas the same level of visibility as other national teams.
"These are amazing women," Walsh said.
"Sometimes I turn up to work and have good days but today is a really great day. I'm super excited.
The Pararoos men's team was founded in 1998. It has taken almost two-and-a-half decades for the formation of the national women's squad.
Why has it taken so long?
"It's challenging sometimes," Walsh said.
"[Football Australia is] an organisation that runs a number of different national teams … given where we are geographically placed, it can be quite expensive.
"I guess they are all excuses because we've put a line in the sand today to make sure that it happens and we'll work back from there to make sure we give them [ParaMatildas] great preparation for Spain.
"We want to set them up for success. We truly do see them standing side by side with our … Matildas and I really couldn't be prouder today."
ParaMatildas head coach Kelly Stirton said she was honoured to be put in charge of the national team.
"This has been a dream of mine to be able to take a team at the national level," said Stirton, who has worked extensively in all-abilities sport.
The World Cup is now the focus for Beikoff and her ParaMatildas teammates.
"It's been quite a whirlwind, we've been waiting since 2019 for all this to happen, I think that's the nature of living in a pandemic," Beikoff said.
"But we are just beyond excited that this is happening. We don't really know what the World Cup is going to be looking like but we know that we want to win. And we want to do Australia proud."
