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The Matildas
The Matildas are expected to know the identity of their next coach in the coming weeks. Photograph: Linh Pham/Getty Images
The Matildas are expected to know the identity of their next coach in the coming weeks. Photograph: Linh Pham/Getty Images

FFA zero in on next Matildas coach but that is just one piece of puzzle

This article is more than 3 years old

The appointment of Rae Dower as women’s technical advisor is arguably as important as who will take the reins next month

As October draws nearer, so too does the reported deadline for the appointment of the Matildas’ next head coach. Some regard it as the most important decision Football Federation Australia will make in shaping the future of the women’s game.

The new coach will lead Australia’s “golden generation” to four major tournaments over the next four years, encompassing perhaps their best ever chance at coming out the other side with a major international trophy.

But while all eyes have been focused on who could fill arguably the most coveted position in international women’s football, FFA have made sure that whoever leads the Matildas in the future will not do so alone.

On Wednesday, FFA announced former Canberra United head coach Rae Dower – who has spent the last three years leading Australia’s Under-17s team, the Junior Matildas – has been elevated to the role of women’s technical advisor to complement her youth team position.

While it received far less attention from the media and the wider football community, it is an appointment that is arguably just as important as who will take the reins of the senior team next month.

Dower is now the most senior woman in a technical position within the national governing body, joining former Socceroos technical analyst Ron Smith in advising interim technical director Trevor Morgan on the future of the Australian game.

The unique challenges facing women’s football, however, means that there is no one-size-fits-all approach dictated from above – making Dower’s appointment all the more crucial.

“There are obviously lots of similarities within the game – it’s still a round ball, still the same dimensions of the field, all the rules are the same – but there are some characteristics and different ways that [women] get to the top of the pyramid compared to the boys,” Dower told Guardian Australia.

“[This role] is an opportunity to collaborate more within the women’s national teams unit and to see where we can collaborate a little bit more with member federations as well – the states – and try to move our pathways forward in terms of our women’s programs.

“The experience that I’ve had working in and around a number of different states now and working across the national team program, I’ll be able to provide a little bit more bespoke advice to Trevor in relation to that.”

Rae Dower talks to the Junior Matildas on a tour of the Solomon Islands in 2019. Photograph: Football Federation Australia/Joseph Mayers Photography

It is revealing, perhaps, of FFA’s intended direction that Dower and Morgan both come to their new technical roles from a background of youth club development. While Dower emerged through the Canberra United Academy where she produced and funnelled players into the W-League side she eventually led to two trophies, Morgan’s career has seen him involved with the Young Socceroos, the Western Sydney Wanderers’ youth team, and as football director at Westfield Sports High School, which has produced several senior Matildas and Socceroos.

“The emergence of the academy system throughout the country with the A-League academies, a lot of that development is done by […] clubs,” Dower said. “We’re not yet in the position that we want to be in yet with the W-League clubs being able to have that full line in the pathway.

“I think the A-League and W-League clubs acknowledge that we would want those pathways aligned. We’re probably a little bit further off them in the girls’ pathway, [but] we’re working hand-in-hand with the member federations and their development programs – their national training centre programs – and eventually that’s producing players for their W-League clubs, especially in the upcoming season with the borders being restricted.

“We’re going to rely on our domestic product and domestic players, and that’s going to give so many great opportunities for players who might have thought it was a bit beyond them.”

There is also a desire from FFA to address the under-performance of Australia’s youth teams on the international stage. Dower will work closely with the new senior Matildas coach to ensure that the current “golden generation” of Matildas is not the last.

“You know as well as I do that there’s some really exciting players around,” Dower said. “When people say, ‘oh, there’s nothing coming through, where are they coming from?’ I just say, ‘they’re there! Go and watch them! Every weekend, they’re playing!’

“They just need the right environment and the right opportunity to get that experience and make that next step. You can’t ever really prove what a player’s potential is going to be. You’ve got some good ideas, you’ve got your own experience, but unless you actually give players opportunities, you never know what they’re capable of.

“If we’re saying this is a golden generation, we’re kind of capping ourselves. How do you know that this is as good as it can get if you don’t know what’s to come?”

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