WOMEN footballers at Fremantle City Football Club are celebrating a long-awaited upgrade to Wauhop Park, after the Cook Government injected $1 million into the East Freo sporting hub.
The redevelopment includes purpose-built female change rooms, new dugouts, match-day seating, improved gym equipment, fencing, goals, a new scoreboard, and a public address system. An additional $100,000, promised during the 2025 state election, will go toward lighting.
The upgrades aim to boost female participation in sport, with sport and recreation minister Rita Saffioti saying the investment is crucial as demand soars across all codes.
FCFC captain Annabelle Leek enjoys the new change rooms while pollies and club officials talk tactics. Photo by Steve Grant
“Frankly, we’ve seen exponential growth in participation by girls in soccer,” Ms Saffioti said of the hype generated by The Matildas after the World Cup.
“We’re seeing more and more teams… First of all, you invest in the grounds and the pitches and making sure councils and everyone’s working together to improve the pitches.”
She stressed the importance of lighting as a critical factor in supporting this growth: “What lighting does? It allows you to use the existing infrastructure a lot more… So lighting, to me, is one of those ones I really want to continue to invest in.”
Fremantle MLA Simone McGurk described the previous facilities as “substandard”, recalling how players were forced to change in unsuitable conditions. “I think at this facility, they were changing in toilets where they had a urinal, kind of something placed in front of the urinal – cardboard boxes – something like that.
“It’s frustrating that for too long, girls have had substandard facilities… now we’ve been able to refurbish these facilities, add some new ones, and give the girls and women in Fremantle City Football the facilities they deserve.”
Fremantle City Football Club president Tony Estrano agreed, describing the old changerooms as “some 1960s facility” that was “very outdated and… wasn’t female friendly.”
“Look, it’s absolutely fantastic,” Mr Estrano said of the upgrades. “So the excitement it’s given, especially our senior players, but then also the younger girls coming through, where they’re saying, ‘Hey, this is us. We’re now as good as the boys and stuff.’ It’s great, cool, beautiful, excellent.”
Women’s team captain Annabelle Leek echoed the sentiment. “It’s a big improvement on what we’ve had previously. I think we’ve felt that the change rooms weren’t up to standard, and now they’re so much better,” she said. “It just gives us a centre where we can all come together before training programs which help support the team’s cohesion.”
Ms McGurk said the upgrade will also fuel local sporting pride. “It’ll give them the edge over Perth, which is particularly satisfying,” she added with a grin.
by STEVE GRANT