Aussies cheered upon arrival

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This article was published 06/06/2015 (4098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than 50 Winnipeg girls in their soccer-team colours cheered the arrival of Australian women’s national team and chanted “Aussie Aussie Aussie, oy oy oy” at the airport Thursday afternoon.

Fans such as Julia Kun with Aussie flags for antennae were thrilled to have their soccer balls autographed by the Australian national team. Moms who play soccer such as Jodine Wiebe were there, too.

“I think it’s so exciting,” said Wiebe, who played on an over-35 team in the Winnipeg Women’s Soccer League until injuring her foot recently.

“If you can’t play, the second-best thing is to watch,” said Wiebe who was at the airport with her daughter Marissa Wiebe, a Bonivital under-12 soccer player. Marissa made a sign saying “She Shoots, She Scores” with Canadian and Australian flags on it.

The warm Winnipeg welcome was appreciated by the team from Down Under.

“It was great to see all the kids out and hear them say ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie, oy oy oy with their accents,” said Australian midfielder Leena Khamis. The 28-year-old said her team wants to put on a good show for Canada. She said she has no problem playing on artificial turf, which has been a controversy since some women complained men at the World Cup level play only on natural grass, and fake turf is more injurious.

“We’ve got turf fields at home, and it doesn’t bother me what field we play on,” said Khamis.

Other players say there are more weighty issues women in sport have to deal with.

Aussie midfielder Katrina Gorry, who’s spoken out against women in sport being judged for their looks rather than their ability, said in a brief interview she wants to help level the playing field for the girls at the airport and the next generation of female athletes.

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She’s also piped up about remuneration for female athletes. The Australian women’s team is young and feisty, but financially women’s sport still “struggles” to get sponsors. “A lot of the girls buy their own boots (shoes),” said Gorry, 23. The Women’s World Cup is an opportunity to raise the profile of the sport, the quality of play and its value in the eyes of sponsors and fans around the world.

“We need to get as much as we can for ourselves.”

Australia’s women’s soccer team is ranked 10th in the world.

They play the the Americans Monday at 6:30 p.m. and Nigeria Friday, June 12 at 4 p.m. at Investors Group Field.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.