Westfield Young Matildas selected for training camp
Head Coach of the Westfield Young Matildas, Alen Stajcic, has selected a 27-player squad for the training camp at Valentine Sports Park in Glenwood, Sydney, from Saturday 25 April through to Monday 27 April.
The camp, another in a series being conducted, forms part of the preparations for the upcoming AFC U-19 Women's Championships 2009 to be held in the Chinese city of Wuhan from 1 to 12 August. The Championships will also double as the qualification process for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup to be held in Germany next year.
"The camps are an invaluable part of our preparations for the Championships in August," said Stajcic.
"Not only is it important to give the players as much opportunity as possible to play together, but it also forms part of our selection process for the final squad that will head to China in August.
"Following the qualifications in Kuala Lumpur last year, the Westfield W-League gave us the opportunity to identify new players and gave them the chance to perform and develop over the 10 round competition.
"We need as much match practice together as possible to prepare us when we come up against the likes of China and Japan in August, two powerhouses of women's football," noted Stajcic.
Australia qualified for the chance to compete in the AFC U-19 Women's Championships late last year in Kuala Lumpur by winning three of their four matches to finish a convincing second in their group. The Championships will see Australia match up against Japan, China and Chinese Taipei in their Group B matches.
Westfield Young Matildas training camp squad: Courtney Beutel, Ruth Blackburn, Tameka Butt, Trudy Camilleri, Alesha Clifford, Nikola Deiter (gk), Casey Dumont (gk), Angela Fimmano, Sophie Hogben, Elise Kellond-Knight, Samantha Kerr, Rebecca Kiting, Ella Mastrantonio, Sian McLaren (gk), Linda O'Neill, Teresa Polias, Karina Roweth, Jessica Seaman, Gema Simon, Kyah Simon, Samantha Spackman, Bronwyn Studman, Ashleigh Sykes, Nicole Sykes, Marianna Tabain, Emily van Egmond, Christine Walters.