SA's Grant and Dawber selected for Women's Talent Identification Camp

Football South Australia is delighted to learn that two SA players have been selected as part of a 23-player domestic-based squad for the first-ever Women’s Talent Identification Camp to be held in Canberra from 22 – 26 November 2020. 

Adelaide City striker Chelsie Dawber and Football SA NTC graduate and 2018 Shirley Brown Winner Charlotte Grant, who are both Adelaide United W-League players, have been selected by Westfield Matilda's Assistant Coach Melissa Andreatta.

Dawber, who blitzed the WNPLSA in 2020 with 34 goals, is thrilled to be have been selected. 

I am very excited and proud to be invited to this camp. This is my first senior national exposure and I’m very happy to be a part of it and look forward to enjoying the experience. 

Adelaide City and Adelaide United have had an immense impact on my playing career over the last few years and I’d like to thank everyone who was involved in my journey so far. In particular my coaches Andy Calderbank (Adelaide City) and Ivan Karlovic (Adelaide United) for allowing myself to gain confidence and pushing me to be the best I can be or “bossing the pitch” like they’d say. I am very grateful for all the support. 

With the FIFA Women's World Cup on home soil in 2023, Chelsie has her eyes set on pulling on the green and gold for her country.

My goals and aspirations I’m sure are similar to many other aspiring young athletes playing the game. I one day hope to be able to represent my country on the national stage. The World Cup is definitely a target I’ve set my eyes on but I know there is a lot of hard work to be put in before then.   

Football South Australia congratulates Charlotte and Chelsie and wishes them all the best in Canberra next week.

The Women’s Talent Identification Camp provides an opportunity for some of Australia’s most promising female footballers to be evaluated by the Westfield Matildas’ coaching staff as the national team program recommences.  

“Following the disruptions in 2020, this camp is an important milestone for the national team program, and we are looking forward to coming together for the first time since March,” Andreatta said.   

“With four major tournaments, the next four years present exciting opportunities for women’s football in Australia. Creating a deep player pool will be important for our success and this is the start of building the best platform possible.”  

Football Federation Chief Executive Officer, James Johnson, emphasised the importance of continuing to focus on player production for the future of the game.

“Recent research conducted by FFA has highlighted the necessity of successfully implementing Principle V [Create a world-class environment for youth development/production by increasing match minutes for youth players and streamlining the player pathway] of the XI Principles for the future of Australian football to maximise the ability for Australia to generate a bigger talent pool of players for our national teams,” Johnson said.

“We acknowledge that Australia has unique challenges in this area and that we have to be innovative in approaching player development. FFA will continue to work closely with the A-League and Westfield W-League clubs, NPL clubs and Member Federations as we collaboratively seek to grow the player pool.”

The Women’s Talent Identification squad features a mix of young up and coming players from Australia’s youth teams, as well as a host of established Westfield W-League performers.  

Experienced defender Ellie Brush is the only player with senior international appearances to her name, with the further 22 players uncapped at senior level. 19 of the players have represented Australia at Junior and Young Westfield Matildas level.  

As a testament to the development pathway of the Westfield W-League, the versatile Cassidy Davis and defender Natasha Rigby will enter their first national camp at any level. 

“The staff are continually observing and evaluating players, and the 23 invited into the camp have been recognised for their performances at youth level and in the Westfield W-League,” Andreatta added.

“It is vital that we continue to offer chances for players to show that they can contribute to the senior team and in Canberra the selected players will get that chance to push their case for future call ups.

“The Westfield Matildas thrive on competition and opening the door for new players to strengthen the senior environment can only be beneficial as we work to assemble a team to compete in major tournaments.”  

The training camp will be conducted under strict protocols as established by FFA’s National Teams Unit.

23-Player Training Squad | November 2020 | Women’s Talent ID Camp | Canberra, Australia