Young football players in western Sydney say the Women's World Cup has given them every hope of following in the Matildas' footsteps and forge a career in the sport.
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00:00 There's no doubt the Matildas have us all in a fan frenzy at the moment.
00:05 Here in Western Sydney, these players have donned the green and gold to cheer our girls
00:10 home, inspired by the success of the Australians in the Women's World Cup.
00:15 And it's close to home for the team here.
00:17 Three players in the Matilda squad started at this club, the Blacktown Spartans.
00:21 It wasn't long ago that Courtney Nevin, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Charlotte Grant were training
00:26 here.
00:27 Now, they're playing on the world stage.
00:29 And that has inspired many of the girls here to chase their dreams.
00:32 It definitely gives hope.
00:34 A lot of people have dreams playing for the Matildas and not many people get to say that
00:38 they've lived that dream.
00:39 So hopefully one day I can be up there.
00:40 That would be pretty awesome.
00:42 I feel really inspired because it's a World Cup on home soil and it's great to see the
00:47 best professional players in the world play in Australia.
00:50 Definitely the quarter-finals are going to be a big game against France.
00:53 So I just hope the atmosphere is as electric in Brisbane as it was in Sydney.
00:57 Go Matildas!
00:59 Soccer has been rising in popularity in Western Sydney.
01:02 A few years ago, the club here was struggling to fill its junior girls teams.
01:07 Now, they're having to turn people away after registrations jumped by 300%.
01:12 So good for women's football, for future generations of women's footballers.
01:18 Little girls see these players and want to be these players.
01:21 So yeah, it's just been phenomenal.
01:23 I mean, these girls that we see have come up, a lot of them we've had for six, seven,
01:28 eight years, some of them, and they've just continuously growth.
01:31 There's been a lot of growth in between their own football and their personality and their
01:36 enthusiasms.
01:37 Go Matildas!
01:38 With a track record like this club's, some of these players are hoping to be the next
01:46 future stars.
01:47 And to get into the spirit, I thought that I'd give it a kick myself.
01:54 Well, I think that's the verdict.
02:01 Maybe I should give up my day job.
02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]