Shipard, Catley recognised

Sally Shipard is rewarded for a stellar season | (Credit: Getty Images)

Sally Shipard and Stephanie Catley were last night awarded the Australian Female Footballer of the Year and U20 Female Footballer of the Year awards at the Australian Football Awards.

For Canberra United midfielder Shipard, it capped off a stellar 12 months which saw her names the Julie Dolan Medallist for the W-League Player of the Year and claim her first championship with United.

Meanwhile Melbourne Victory's Catley was acknowledged for her quick rise to prominence through on the national season where an excellent 2011/12 W-League season saw the left back elevated to the Matildas starting line-up against World Champions Japan and Olympic champions the USA.

With the Matildas away in China for the 2013 EAFF Asian Cup qualification tournament and Canberra United in Japan to participate in the inaugural International Women's Club Championships, both Shipard and Catley gave their acceptance speeches via video.

The Australian Football also recognises achievement at grassroots with Queensland's Fiona Stevenson named the Coach of the Year and the Avalon U16 Girls the Junior Team of the Year.

"It’s a wonderful night for the game to celebrate the diversity of Australian football and pay tribute to everyone from the volunteers through to the superstars,” said Football Federation Australia CEO, David Gallop.

“The AFAs are an important occasion to show that the national governing body wants to nurture that connection to the grassroots. My goal is for everyone who plays, watches and works in the game to feel like they belong in football.

“I congratulate all the winners for their contribution to a stellar year for the game in 2012,” concluded Gallop.

On a disappointing note, no in country Matildas we present at the awards ceremony.

Footballer of the Year (Female) – Sally Shipard (Canberra United)

Sally Shipard is one of the most recognisable faces of the women’s game today. Earmarked for super stardom at any early age, Shipard made her senior international debut for the Westfield Matildas in 2004 as a late substitute in a 2-0 win over China in Beijing.

Since then the likeable ball-player has made 59 A-International appearances for the Westfield Matildas and has struck four goals, including a memorable long-range effort against Mexico in the 2010 Peace Queen Cup in Korea.

An Olympian in 2004, as the games returned to their spiritual home in Athens, Greece, Sally has experience of all the major women’s international competitions having been a member of the under-19 and under-20 teams that participated in the age-grade World Cups in Thailand and Russia respectively before playing in the 2007 FIFA World Cup in China and more recently the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.

Her international highlight though was undoubtedly earlier in 2010 as she played a major part in the remarkable AFC Asian Cup success which culminated in a penalty shoot-out victory over DPR Korea.

On the domestic front, Sally started her career with Wagga Wagga PYC before representing the AIS and NSW Sapphires. Having missed the 2009 season with Canberra United due to a lack of international clearance from Barcelona, Shipard entered the Westfield W-League 2010/11 season full of excitement and in a determined mood to prove she still has the ability to command a game from the heart of the field.

Shipard had a stellar Westfield W-League 2011/12 season and was a significant contributor to Canberra United claiming their first Westfield W-League Premiership and Championship and also claimed the prestigious Julie Dolan Medal for the player of the year. After the Westfield W-League 2011/12 season, Shipard also had a short successful stint with Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Germany.

Under 20 Footballer of the Year (Female) – Stephanie Catley (Melbourne Victory)

Stephanie Catley is an 18 year old Victorian who has already packed much into her relatively short football career so far.

Having played her youth football with the South East Cougars, Catley made her Westfield W-League debut for Melbourne Victory as a 15-year old in October 2009.

For the national team, Catley has represented Australia at U17 & U20 levels and on the 24th of June this year made her Westfield Matildas debut against New Zealand in Wollongong. Since then she has 7 A-International appearances to her name.

Currently with the Westfield Matildas at the EAFF East Asian Cup qualifiers in Shenzen, Catley has a bright future ahead domestically and on the international football stage.

Junior Team of the Year: U16 Women’s Team Avalon Soccer Club (Manly Warringah, NSW)

The Avalon Under 16 Women’s team travelled to Vanuatu in July 2012 to promote women's football in Vanuatu and Sydney's northern beaches. The team held fundraising events and applied for grants to purchase new equipment to take to Vanuatu and donate to girls teams and schools. The team all completed their grass roots coaching course and ran skills/training sessions at four schools in Port Vila. They also donated books and money to the schools through their fundraising. The Vanuatu Football Federation and Australian High Commission in Vanuatu were supportive of the trip and, due to its success are keen to make a regular exchange with Avalon Soccer Club. The team also played a friendly match against the Vanuatu National U/15 team and won 5-0.

Female Coach of the Year – Fiona Stevenson (QLD)

Fiona has been a very active contributor to football in Queensland over the past 12 years, not only within her club level but as a zone and state representative also. Her constant drive to encourage female players to be the best they can be is evident in her many contributions to the sport.

Fiona not only assists in the development of players, she consistently aims to improve both herself and other coaches around Queensland. She recently completed her AFC ‘B’ Licence and is currently enrolled in a Goalkeeping course.

Fiona also instructs on a number of coaching courses on behalf of Football Queensland so that she can assist in the development of more coaches in the regional areas of Queensland

Fiona’s outstanding achievements in coaching include:

• Coach of U11 Girls at Moore Park Beach Football Club

• Football Bundaberg U13 Girls – Wide Bay Champions

• 2011 Assistant Coach QLD U13 Girls – Winners of Pool B (National Junior Championships)

• FWB U12 Girls Junior Premier League Head Coach – Runners Up (QLD Country)

• U12 Girls Queensland State Development Camp

• Presented a number of coaching courses ranging from Grassroots to Senior Licence

2012 Australian Football Award Winners

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

Footballer of the Year (male): Brett Holman, Aston Villa FC

Footballer of the Year (female): Sally Shipard, Canberra United

U20 Footballer of the Year (male): Mathew Ryan, Central Coast Mariners