Women’s football on the Eyre Peninsula will receive a boost next week with a visit from Crows AFLW premiership players Chelsea Randall and Anne Hatchard.

Randall and Hatchard, who are both part of the Crows community team, will lead a Naval Group Crows Cup event for approximately 100 girls from eight schools.

The Naval Group Crows Cup – an interschool girls-only football carnival – will include Year 10-12 students from schools in Tumby Bay, Cummins, Cowell, Streaky Bay, Cleve and Port Lincoln.

In addition, two teams will travel some 600 kilometres from Roxby Downs to take part.

The AFLW players will also host a Come and Try session from 4.15pm to encourage more local girls to have a go at the sport and drive registrations for the Port Lincoln Football League’s inaugural Youth Girls Competition which commences in October.

Both the Carnival and the Come and Try session will be held on Wednesday, September 20 at Centenary Oval.

“We can’t wait to get to Port Lincoln for a few days and we are hoping both the Carnival and the Come and Try session will grow interest and drive the development of a youth girls competition for the region,” Randall said.

The visit to Port Lincoln follows visits to Port Augusta, Mt Gambier, Naracoorte and Darwin by the Crows team earlier this year in an effort to grow the women’s game in these regions.

Randall said it was rewarding to see just how much the women’s game had grown in the last 12 months.

“The idea of the Naval Group Crows Cup is to encourage more young girls to give football a try in a fun and safe environment. 

“The event also promotes the benefits of physical activity, provides positive role models and introduces girls to the female football pathway in South Australia.

“There’s no doubt that more and more young girls want to pick up a footy and follow in the footsteps of their new heroes – and that’s so great to see.”