In 2024, after many years of discussion, the fight for representation of women's futsal amongst the world football community concluded. All five confederations' respective continental cups launched, with countries eyeing qualification for the first FIFA Women's Futsal World Cup. The Asian Football Confederation, which had women's futsal on the map a decade earlier, was paramount among those keen to launch the complete program. Thus, the Australian national team was born, and this past week, they played their initial qualifiers for the Asian and World Cups, with the full cycle played in the sole calendar year. Front Page Football caught up with women's futsal pioneer and former Perth Glory A-League Women's figurehead Marianna Tabain to break down the team's formation and discuss how far they can go, having secured a spot at the Asian Cup in May.
The inaugural Australian Women's Futsal National Team established themselves as leaders of the code in Tashkent. (Image: Asian Football Confederation)
On the formation of the Australian Women's Futsal National Team, upon all announcements, Futsalroos manager Miles Downie was quickly appointed. A selection camp for the sport's 30 best players was organised in its spiritual home in Dural, New South Wales.
Speaking to Front Page Football, Marianna Tabain showered Downie with praise, knowing the value of his proficient domestic career in the sport and his invaluable presence.
"With a coach that is next level and has played the game at a high level, what he has taught us is really a lot. From the first camp till now, we've learned so much. I think I vouch for all the players; we are growing a lot as a squad, and his futsal knowledge and his mind is a lot to learn from," she explained.
Though the quality would lay individually with the squad, the team had to blend quickly as a new group and adapt to playing styles in Asia and with their teammates; the camp proved exceptionally successful.
Tabain added that, above all else, the group's togetherness stood out and that foundations were set up well, with Australia ready for any challenge.
"Any group coming together can be difficult. Though from the get-go and our trials, we said from the start [that] we are going to be supportive of everyone in the squad, and that is exactly what we were. That first camp initially built a strong foundation, and we are really well connected as a group," she said.
Tabain was quick to implement her experience into the latter contests with Uzbekistan and the Philippines. (Image: Asian Football Confederation)
Tabain was named the team's vice-captain alongside fellow ex-A-League Women's player Trudy Camilleri, who would wear the armband. This dynamic likely provided an early trendsetter as the two knew each other's footballing abilities and had previously played for Australian representative teams on tour in the 5-a-side game.
Establishing relationships between players from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia became seamless, with the leadership group to thank for the strides made in this department.
"I went to Thailand previously with a few of the team members; we had crossed paths with the players, and then obviously Trudy Camilleri, I played alongside when we were younger. It has been a nice challenge with the younger players as well," Tabain added.
Reflecting on the camp, the team immediately looked forward, with nothing but a complete focus on their goals and a positive mentality, reflected in Tabain's energy in her responses.
"This (camp) has been awesome. To share that with new and younger players, a new coaching staff, starting the whole program new has been a really nice feeling, and we're looking forward to what the future holds in this squad."
At this point, Australia was set up for the most defined of successes. The good feeling established in camp led Tabain to reflect whole-heartedly on what it was like to adorn the honour of representing her country and reflect on the more sinister elements of FIFA's delay in codifying the sport.
You see, while professional futsal contracts would have required a considerable commitment to move overseas that not many, if any at all, from Australia outside a special few, could afford on the women's stage, these opportunities were even less in scale.
A career in association football is the only real way to support futsal in the Australian landscape. Tabain quite passionately opened up in this regard.
"That (balance of codes) has never been easy, to be honest. When you sign an A-League contract, you are deeply committed to the club and ultimately put a sport like futsal on the back burner. So I always had to do that, and it (futsal) was never something to do."
Commenting on the change, Tabain reflected on the whole experience from start to finish, explaining that the girls from young ages asked many difficult questions as they found ways to maximise their talent, ultimately further intertwining the special bond the squad gained in a short period.
"I feel like if I could have chosen the sport earlier on, I maybe would have, but football was always the better pathway. We had this discussion as a group. We have trained so long, and what for?"
Though the future brings a new dawn that the country and its participants will relish, it's one the vice-captain hopes will become a more mainstream and permanent fixture in the Australian sporting psyche.
"It has been so hard to have your eyes on anything, and now, with the program in place, and we're playing qualifiers with young players coming through, that pathway is there. Hopefully, this continues, and we get the support of the whole of Australia, the FA, and we all start to move forward. We can get people doing wonderful things; we have the quality, no doubt," Tabain said.
Furthermore, after finally achieving the honour as an Australian national team player and as a leader, Tabain opened up on the long fight to get a senior cap for her country.
"It is a massive honour. I always wanted to tick that off, a senior national team. I was really lucky throughout my career; I was in a senior camp without selection. I played for the Young Matildas."
The end of that struggle and the folly of age led Tabain to relish her place and, if anything, appreciate more what that brings within a newly formed team.
"At the senior level, it is just something completely different. Your mind is wiser, and you have been through a lot, so I learnt to embrace the moment with the squad and tell myself it is an exciting time for futsal."
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Onto qualifying and to understand what Australia was up against, the AFC, knowing full well that most teams playing would be largely inexperienced, devised ad-hoc standings using overall results from the two previous editions, seeding each team that is playing in the tournament first, then including all newly formed teams in the bracket below.
The leaders from Group C, named alongside unseeded Australia, would be 8th-ranked Uzbekistan, who hosted the qualifiers and promised to be a tough contest as a hotbed of the sport. Having played in previous editions without much success, Turkmenistan would join in from position 12 in the AFC standings, likely knowing they were fortunate to receive such an honour. Meanwhile, the newly formed teams with FIFA admission were Australia, seeded 16th; Kuwait, seeded 19th; and World Cup hosts the Philippines, ranked 24th and last in the continent.
In a move that now seems slightly baffling, the mechanism for this came from previous results in other organised matches, where a completely different-looking Philippines team finished the ASEAN Cup winless.
When push came to shove, the experienced three of Australia, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines quickly swept aside the Kuwaitis and Turkmen teams. Australia played the two minnows first and quickly racked up the goals, with Nikkita Fazzari of the Dural Warriors program scoring a multitude early on, finishing the cycle third overall in Asia for goals scored as a result.
A come-from-behind 3-1 away win to Uzbekistan proved the character of the group, and a showdown where the team quelled off a much improved Philippines team was enough to earn their place at the Asian Cup with flying colours.
The long-term goal is World Cup success, and the team is on that path. Tabain spoke about the aspirations and claimed that the sky is the limit for the nation.
"Under a lot of pressure, the girls got the job done. We wanted to send a message that we're a quality group. We wanted to get those results, put the group together, and take that beyond Asia with an eye to the World Cup," she said.
Looking to May, Australia's current position in the draw is unclear. Should the ranking points or lack thereof not help the team, a likely draw against powerhouses Japan and Thailand will make life tough. However, should they be seeded, the team can go far. Preparations, regardless of this fact, are something Tabain knows the squad will master.
"If we stay together and stay connected with the best preparation going into the Asian Cup, I think we can give ourselves every opportunity to achieve a high finish.
"With new competition, it will be hard, but with our quality, we have high aspirations, and we have got to do everything in our power to do the job."
The onus now moves to the AFC to decide seeding and the draw Australia receives. While internal ambition will be high even in the worst-case scenario, Australia can look ahead knowing their newest sporting team is one to be proud of.
The draw for the AFC Women's Futsal Asian Cup will be held on February 6. You can find more information through the Asian Football Confederation's social media accounts.
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