Rosso. From Informal Recreation to a Geography of Achievement. Womens Soccer in South Australia

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From Informal Recreation to a Geography

of Achievement: Women’s Soccer in

South Australia

EDOARDO ROSSOSchool of Geography, Population and Environmental Management, Flinders University,GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia.

Email: [email protected]

Received 7 November 2007; Revised 5 September 2008; Accepted 1 March 2009

AbstractSince its inclusion amongst Olympic sports in the 1990s, women’s soccer hasgrown impressively worldwide. Despite its rapid global expansion and growth inthe number of playing participants, the sport has been neglected by geographers.In Australia, which is currently the fifth women’s soccer country in the worldas per registered players, the popularity of the sport has grown significantly inrecent years. Perhaps even more strikingly, however, the approach to the sporthas changed, to focus on the achievement of results. The shift in the purpose of women’s soccer, from a solely social and recreational activity to an achievementsport, is a result of the increasing links between the local women’s soccer

systems and the global world of sport. The paper examines an exemplar of SouthAustralia, and in particular the Adelaide metropolitan region. Here, in the last 30years, women’s soccer has evolved from a geography of foundation, defined byinformal organisation and localised scope, to a geography of achievement, char-acterised by an institutionalised focus on the production of players, the intro-duction of higher-profile ‘sportscapes’, a broader pattern of clubs distribution,and a new set of connections with global women’s soccer. The current geogra-phy of achievement links local and global women’s soccer scenes. On the otherhand, it funnels access to the achievement level of South Australian women’ssoccer to a limited central area of Adelaide’s metropolitan region. The paper alsodraws attention to the part that social capital, and especially ‘bridging’ socialcapital, played in enabling the evolution of Adelaide women’s soccer. The role

of social capital as a contributing element of the development of sportingsystems is a topic that deserves further investigation.

KEY WORDS sports geography; women’s soccer; achievement sport; globalsport; social capital; South Australia

ACRONYMSSAWSA South Australian Women’s Soccer AssociationSASI South Australian Sport InstituteLGA Local Government Area

ITC Intensive Training Centre

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



IntroductionAlthough the myth of Australia as a nationobsessed with sport is often mistakenly perpe-trated (Phillips and Magdalinski, 2003), sportis recognised to be an important component of

Australia’s cultural and social fabric (Adair andVamplew, 1997; Cashman, 1995; Lynch andVeal, 1996). The interest in sport has producednumerous academic studies that have tended toprovide historical, cultural and social perspec-tives (Adair and Vamplew, 1997; Cashman,1995; Collins, 2000; Mosley et al., 1997; Phillipsand Magdalinski, 2003; Stratton et al., 2005;Vamplew and Stoddart, 1994). In recent years,sport research in Australia has also encompassedgeographical issues (Jones, 2002; Tonts, 2005;Tonts and Atherley, 2005; Atherley, 2006).

Overall, however, the study of the spatial dimen-sions of sport tends to receive little attention fromgeographers and sports geography remains aneglected sub-discipline (Bale, 2003). Women’ssoccer, in particular, is a neglected field of inves-tigation for geographers, despite its current 4.1million registered players worldwide and itsremarkable 54 per cent global growth between2000 and 2006 (Fédération Internationale deFootball Association, 2007).

In the late twentieth century, the popularity of women’s soccer around the world has grownremarkably across differences of nation, culture,class and ethnicity, and the sport has evolved intoa global phenomenon (Hong, 2003). Australiaranks fifth in the world by number of registeredfemale soccer players, with approximately112,000 players, following the United States(1,670,000 players), Germany (871,000 players),Canada (495,000 players) and Sweden (136,000players) (Fédération Internationale de FootballAssociation, 2007). The outcomes of Australianwomen’s soccer vary from pure recreation to

participation in the Olympic Games and in theWorld Cup. Its growing popularity was con-firmed recently when the games of the Australiannational team were broadcast live on nationaltelevision, during the 2006 Under 20 WorldChampionship. Australia, and in particularAdelaide, has also been the location of the 2006Asian Football Confederation Women’s Cham-pionship, when the local interest for the sportwas emphasised by considerable crowd atten-dance (Football Federation Australia, 2006).

This paper examines the evolution of the

spatial organisation of women’s soccer in themetropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia.It traces the changes in the spatial distribution of

women’s soccer clubs from the formalisationof the sport (1978) to the current ‘achievementphase’ (Bale, 2003). This paper reveals three dis-tinct geographies of South Australian women’ssoccer, associated with three historical phases of

the sport. The first is a geography of foundation,characterised by immigration, informal organi-sation, reliance on individuals, a localised clubpattern and the recreational nature of the sport.The second, a geography of consolidation, istypified by the same recreational character as thefoundation phase, but also by the formalisationof institutions and a shift in the spatial patternof clubs. The last is a geography of achievement,characterised by a new focus on the attainmentof results, the introduction of particular playingvenues, a broader pattern of club distribution, the

intervention of the Australian federal govern-ment and links with the global world of sport.The paper highlights the role of social capital,defined as ‘networks, norms, and social trustthat facilitate coordination and cooperation formutual benefit’ (Putnam, 1995, 67), as a facilita-tor of the growth of Adelaide women’s soccerfrom its informal beginnings to its current linkswith the global world of sport. Although schools,in particular primary schools, play an importantrole in introducing young girls to soccer, thispaper is concerned mainly with the sport atthe club level. It is generally through clubs thatplayers in Adelaide have access to most localcompetitions and have the opportunity to engagewith the most recent achievement-driven charac-ter of the sport.

This study made use of a mix of quantitativeand qualitative research methods (Valentine andClifford, 2003) to trace the changes in the spatialorganisation of Adelaide women’s soccer. Infor-mation on the number and location of clubs andteams, residential patterns of registered players

and patterns of production of elite players wasobtained through the South Australian Women’sSoccer Association (SAWSA) 2006 database,past years’ yearbooks and electronic archives,and the South Australian Sport Institute’s (SASI)electronic archives. Semi-structured interviewswith current and past key stakeholders inAdelaide women’s soccer, including SAWSAand SASI executive representatives, were usedto complement the relatively limited data avail-able for the period prior to 1998, and to test theassumption of the transition of local women’s

soccer from a phase of recreation to a phaseof achievement (Bale, 2003). The interviews,approximately one hour long, were conducted

182 Geographical Research • May 2010 • 48(2):181–196



between June and August 2006. The author, fur-thermore, has been involved in the capacity of coach of two of the largest women’s soccer clubsin the Adelaide region between 2003 and 2006.This personal association has assisted in the

selection of the interviewees and has enabledthe author to gain an ‘insider perspective’ on thecurrent dynamics of growth and concern of thelocal women’s soccer scene (Kearns, 2005).

In the first section, the paper establishes ageneral context within which to appreciate thescope of the study, and its connections withthe relevant literature. The paper then exploresin detail the three phases of the evolution of women’s soccer in Adelaide: the foundationphase, the consolidation phase and the achieve-ment phase. In the last section, the paper reflects

on the current geography of achievement of Adelaide women’s soccer, which links the localsport with theglobal scene, but limits access to thehighest level of women’s soccer to a restrictedarea within Adelaide’s metropolitan region.

Women’s soccer in AdelaideIn Adelaide, women’s soccer has grown dramati-cally since the South Australian Women’s SoccerAssociation (SAWSA) was founded in 1978.Now, women’s soccer is played as an amateurorganised sport at both high school and clublevel and involves players aged from under 11to over 40 years old. The sport has spread fromthe northern suburbs of Adelaide, where it

had originated, to the whole metropolitan area(although the current location of facilities causesimportant sub-regional differences in the engage-ment with the game). In the last few years, more-over, the interest in women’s soccer in South

Australia moved beyond the Adelaide region anda formal association (South Eastern Women’sFootball Association – SEWFA) was formedin Mount Gambier, a regional city 455 km southeast of Adelaide. The Adelaide metropolitanarea, however, is the only well developedwomen’s soccer region in South Australia, interms of participation, length of involvement,and number of elite footballers produced.

The Adelaide metropolitan area is divided intonineteen Local Government Areas (LGAs), andcomprises 73 per cent of South Australia’s popu-

lation (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001).The study area comprises all the Local Govern-ment Areas (LGAs) in and around metropo-litan Adelaide that possess a women’s soccerclub affiliated to the South Australian Women’sSoccer Association (SAWSA). It embraces thenineteen metropolitan LGAs, and the LGAsof Barossa and Mount Barker, in the city’soutskirts. The study area (SAWSA region)encompasses central, northern, southern andouter sub-regions (Fig. 1). The central sub-regioncomprises thirteen LGAs and 51.3 per cent of theregion’s target population. Target population isdefined as the approximate number of femalesaged 10–39 in 2006, a figure obtained by ‘aging’

Figure 1 The South Australian Women’s Soccer Association (SAWSA) region, Adelaide, 2006.

E. Rosso: From Informal Recreation to a Geography of Achievement: Women’s Soccer in South Australia 183



by five years the female population aged 5–34 atthe time of the 2001 Census, which is currentlythe most up-to-date source of local populationdata (Rosso, 2006). The northern sub-region ismade up of four LGAs and contains 28.2 per cent

of the region’s target population. The southernand the outer sub-regions comprise one and threeLGAs respectively, and 13.6 and 6.9 per cent of the region’s target population. Figure 1 showsthe SAWSA region and its four sub-regions.

In the last decade, women’s soccer has alsoundergone a radical transformation in purposeand associated values. Whereas in the first twentyyears of official competitions the sport wasplayed mostly for recreational, social and fitnesspurposes, since the mid 1990s it has becomeincreasingly focussed on the achievement of

formal sporting results, in particular the produc-tion of elite players who will progress into thestate and national systems. Following the evolu-tion suggested by Bale (1994; 2003), Adelaidewomen’s soccer has developed from its initialfun and recreation culture, into an achievementsport, characterised by the use of specificallydesigned venues, and the desire to produceresults. Achievement sports are, according toGuttmann (1978, cited in Bale, 1994, 6), oftenbut not necessarily professional sports, and aredefined by their specialisation of roles, ‘compe-tition, quantification, record-keeping, record-breaking and bureaucratisation’.

A study of sports geographySports geography, defined as ‘the study of spatialvariations in the pursuit of various sports and of the impact of sporting activities on the land-scape’ (Johnston et al., 2000, 783), is concernedwith the spatial distribution of sporting activities;the places of consumption of sports; and therecommendations that may change the spatial

organisation of sports (Bale, 2003).The engagement between sports and places,and the identification of sporting regions, isindeed a central theme of sports geography.Rooney (1974) identified sporting regions in theUSA according to the number of high schoolplayers produced by each state in relation to thetotal population of the state. Bale (1982) studiedthe production of players as a regional outputand identified sport regions by mapping percapita values of individual sports. The concept of production is also used to distinguish between

recreational and ‘serious’ sports (Bale, 2003).The production of results and records is thedriving characteristic of achievement sports

(Bale, 2003, 9), as opposed to recreational sports,which are played for fun, fitness or socialisation.Achievement sports are characterised by the useof specifically designed structures, like stadiumsor racecourses, while recreational sports are

associated with less formal venues, like parks,other public spaces, or shared sport grounds(Bale, 2003).

Studies of Australian sports geography includethe works of Forster (1986; 1988) on the spatialorganisation of early South Australian cricket;Jones (2002) on the grounding of football clubsin Perth; Tonts and Atherley (2005) on the chal-lenges that economic restructuring poses forsport in rural Western Australia; and Tonts(2005), and Atherley (2006) on the role of sportas a vehicle for social capital formation in rural

Western Australia. Forster (1986; 1988) analysedthe introduction of cricket in the South Australiancolony and how the local geography (metropoli-tan primacy, low rural population density and hotdry climate) affected its spatial organisation. Heused a model of geographical diffusion to isolatethree main phases of the game in rural SouthAustralia: its ‘origins’, ‘informal organization’and ‘formal organization’, which are represen-tative of the solution to the problems that geo-graphy posed for the organisation of the game,including sparsely populated settlements, longdistances and primitive transportation. Althoughnot strictly a geographer, Cashman (1995), addedto the geography of Australian sports by estab-lishing a link between the sporting tradition of the country with its climate, environment andsettlement patterns. He also pointed out that,since the 1850s, sports have been linked stronglywith localities at many levels, including work groups, neighbourhoods, suburbs, towns, regionsand the nation.

Sport and social capitalThis paper aims, on one hand, to add to theliterature on Australian sports geography and, onthe other, to highlight processes of sport evolu-tion, in particular those associated with socialcapital, that may provide sports administratorswith additional tools for the management andplanning of sport growth.

The relationship between sport and socialcapital has been traditionally considered in termsof sport as a forum for the accumulation of socialcapital (for example, Atherley, 2006; Tonts,

2005). Sport tends to create opportunities forsocial interaction that often help in overcom-ing cultural and social differences (Tonts and




Atherley, 2005). The notion of social capital hasbeen associated with sport because of claims thatsport can strengthen senses of place and belong-ing, can play a vital role in the regeneration of deprived communities, and can enhance civic

pride (Jarvie, 2006). Sports are deemed to favoursocial mechanisms such as reciprocity, trust andrecognition, and to represent favourable arenasfor the creation of social capital with the potentialto strengthen and unify communities (Seippel,2006). Social capital accumulated through sportmay contribute to community identity and cohe-sion (Atherley, 2006), community revitalisationand social inclusion (Jarvie, 2003), and ruralrestructuring (Fløysand and Jakobsen, 2005). Onthe other hand, the association between socialcapital and sport cannot be imagined as a ‘univer-

sal social solution’. Social exclusion from sportis often observable (Collins, 2003; 2004; Wagg,2004). Moreover, social capital can have nega-tive connotations, restricting the opportunities of outsiders in close-knit communities (Portes andLandolt, 1996). Tonts (2005) asserts that socialcapital around local sporting clubs can act as abarrier to the formation of social capital at agreater geographical scale.

The relationship between sport and socialcapital could also be seen from a different per-spective. While the existing literature is con-cerned with social capital as an outcome of sporting activity (Seippel, 2006), social capitalcan also be seen as a component in the develop-ment of sports. Pre-existing social capital orsocial capital arising from participation in sportmay facilitate or undermine the developmentof sporting systems. The concept of social capitalrefers to social relations based on trust and reci-procity that facilitate access to external resourcesand can lead to mutual benefits (Bourdieu, 1986;Putnam, 1995). The assumption here is that

an increased ability to gain access to externalresources may enhance sporting systems’ abilityto reach out to greater proportions of their terri-tories, and thus enhance regional sporting results.On the other hand, social capital accumulatedwithin women’s soccer clubs, for example, couldinhibit the opportunities for outsiders to take partin the sport. The association between socialcapital and sport from the point of view of thedevelopment and growth of sporting systemsdeserves further investigation.

The foundation phaseWomen’s soccer was established as a formal sportin the Adelaide region at the same time as the

game began to flourish in many other countries,including Denmark, Canada, Sweden, China, theU.S.A. and Germany (Brus and Trangbæk,2003; Hall, 2003; Hjelm and Olofsson, 2003;Hong and Mangan, 2003; Markovits and

Hellerman, 2003; Pfister, 2003). The introduc-tion of the game in South Australia can be datedto the mid-1960s, when records exist of a gameplayed between teams called Elizabeth Vale andAdelaide Fijians in 1966 (Harlow, 2003). It isnot clear where that game took place, and it isnot known if there were other women’s soccerteams in Adelaide at that time. Nevertheless,Harlow (2003) reports an increasing frequencyof women’s soccer encounters throughout the1970s. The South Australian Women’s SoccerAssociation (SAWSA) was founded in 1978,

after a brief period during which the sport wasplayed informally and only in a few areas of the Adelaide region, mainly in the northernsub-region.

In its early years, as the name Adelaide Fijians(Harlow, 2003) suggests, Adelaide women’ssoccer embodied similar ethnic sporting tradi-tions to those that that characterised men’ssoccer in Australia for many decades (Mosley,1997; Mosley and Murray, 1994). However,while men’s soccer was popular across adiverse range of Adelaide’s ethnic communities(Charles, 1994), the women’s game was associ-ated in particular with the British communities of the northern suburbs, where a few clubs and highschools became involved in friendly matchespredominantly around Salisbury and Elizabeth.Ms. Tracey Jenkins, a current State and SASIcoach whose playing career started in an Eliza-beth team as early as 1979, recalls that the playerbase of the initial phase was mainly associatedwith families of British immigrants resident inthe northern sub-region (2006, interview). Many

of the players who participated in the periodimmediately preceding and immediately follow-ing the foundation of SAWSA were local resi-dents of the northern suburbs, in particular inElizabeth and the Salisbury area, and often hadclose relatives who were soccer players. Ms.Wendy Carter (2006, interview), the currentSouth Australian Women’s Soccer Association(SAWSA) executive officer, adds that thedemand and the initiatives that led to the forma-tion of SAWSA were mostly restricted to thenorthern suburbs, where the game was played

essentially on the basis of friendly games withouta formal league, and principally by immigrantsfrom the UK.




The values associated with the sport weremostly recreation, exercise and socialisation. Thesport, as Bale (2003) puts it, was in its ‘fun andplay’ phase. This informal phase was character-ised by the lack of a formal governing body and

organised competitions, the use of venues thatwere not strongly associated with women’ssoccer, a limited and highly localised level of participation, and a high degree of reliance onthe voluntary work of individuals. Ms Jenkinsremembers that, in the early years:

There was a guy [. . .] who lived in ElizabethWest [. . .] he used to have a back shed andthere were, I don’t know, probably eightteams registered, and that was throughoutSouth Australia . . . he kept all the details of

them in his back shed and he, basically, as faras I can remember . . . he ran the show.

The foundation of SAWSA, and the shift in thepurpose of local women’s soccer into a formalfitness and recreational activity, followed the firstgeographical outreach of the local sport, and inparticular, the first networks created betweenSouth Australian and interstate enthusiasts. Inthe late 1970s, when South Australian women’ssoccer was still an informal sport, formal organi-sations already existed in other Australian states(Harlow, 2003). In particular, a formal associa-tion representing women’s soccer in the state of Victoria existed in Melbourne. Harlow (2003)notes three instances when teams representingSouth Australia and Victoria met between 1976and 1978. The events were held twice inAdelaide and once in Melbourne. The gamesplayed in Adelaide took place in the suburbsof Elizabeth North and Salisbury, both in thenorthern sub-region.

Such games made possible the formation of important connections between South Australian

and Victorian representatives, which favouredthe creation of social capital (Putnam, 1995).In particular, the kind of social networks estab-lished between South Australian and Victorianwomen’s soccer representatives in the late 1970sbelong to the sphere of ‘bridging’ social capi-tal (relationships between people from diffe-rent networks), as opposed to ‘bonding’ socialcapital, (relationships within dense or closednetworks). ‘Bridging’ social capital is thoughtto make the resources of one network accessibleto the members of another (Tonts, 2005). The

social capital created by means of those friendlygames was instrumental in the foundation of SAWSA. It inspired the South Australian re-

presentatives and provided them with the knowl-edge necessary to establish a local women’ssoccer association.

Previously to 1978, there were the so-calledfriendly games with Victoria, and I think that’swhen they gained information about . . .in terms of setting up SAWSA . . . and alsothrough the Australian Women’s SoccerAssociation . . . (Carter 2006, interview).

The formalisation of South Australian women’ssoccer, therefore, occurred through the interac-tion of local and localised momentum, and exter-nal enabling knowledge and support. SAWSAhas its geographical roots in the northern sub-region, where cultural interest and enthusiasmfor the game were stronger than in the rest of

Adelaide (Carter 2006, interview). That enthusi-asm made possible the creation of connectionswith an existing external women’s soccer asso-ciation, and the resulting social capital enabledthe formalisation of the local game by favouringthe transfer of knowledge between the newlycreated networks.

The consolidation phaseIn 1978, the first year of official SAWSA com-petition, there were only eight clubs, seven of which were based in the northern sub-regionand one in the central region (Fig. 2). By 1980,however, women’s soccer participation hadgrown dramatically to twenty-one clubs compet-ing in SAWSA leagues (Harlow, 2003). Whereasduring the foundation phase, the northern sub-region was the core of Adelaide women’s soccer,during the 1980s interest in the sport began tospread to the central sub-region (Carter 2006,interview).

The growth and spread of women’s soccerfrom its original location brought significant

difficulties and required considerable efforton behalf of a restricted number of dedicatedcoaches and players. In the northern suburbs, thenetworks set up in the pre-SAWSA period led tohigher early participation in the sport than inother sub-regions. Nevertheless, the establish-ment of women’s soccer at the regional (metro-politan) level, required the creation of strongersocial networks to facilitate the wider engage-ment of Adelaide women with the new sport.Furthermore, as was the case in other contempo-rary women’s soccer countries such as England

and Germany (Pfister, 2003; Williams, 2003), theconsolidation of women’s soccer in Adelaide hadto overcome some degree of gender prejudice.




Gender prejudice often characterises women’ssports. Although women’s participation in sporthas increased greatly worldwide since the 1960s,many sports have historically been a vehicle forthe advance of masculinity, and women’s partici-pating in sports of this type generally experiencedifficulties in gaining visibility and recogni-tion (Theberge, 2000). In the structured worldof sport, women are often disadvantaged andwomen’s sports are challenged by a multi-faceted interaction of cultural, social and histo-rical factors (Sleap, 1998). In Adelaide, it was

often hard to promote a traditionally male-dominated sport to women, and to develop a baseof participation that could make the newly-established sport viable.

Women’s soccer has actually been a sport thathas evolved over time, and it’s been quitedifficult in all areas [. . .] mainly because youare breaking down a lot of traditions andencouraging the girls to play what previouslywas seen as a boys only game (Carter 2006,interview).

After the growth that followed its formalisation,the sport underwent a phase of consolidation.The period between the early 1980s and the mid-

1990s saw Adelaide women’s soccer strengthenits presence in the local sporting scene, throughthe establishment of a more solid institutionalbase (Harlow, 2003) and the creation of a widerset of social networks. The social capital accu-mulated in this period facilitated the involvementof new and capable volunteers within the admin-istration of SAWSA. This resulted in strongerfinancial policies related to fees and fines;enhanced communication across the women’ssoccer system; a joint effort between the SAWSAand the South Australian Secondary School

Sports Association to create the first junior Stateteam; and the appointment of the first SAWSApart-time Development Officer (Harlow, 2003).

The relative success of women’s soccer inthe central sub-region during this phase, goesbeyond assumptions related to its larger popula-tion (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001). Inthe consolidation phase, the purpose of women’ssoccer remained mainly associated with recre-ation, fitness, and the accumulation of socialcapital throughout the Adelaide region. Thegrowth of women’s soccer clubs in the central

sub-region (Fig. 2) may relate to the quality of networks established in that area. The centralsub-region has arguably provided a more fertile

Figure 2 Changing spatial distribution of women’s soccer clubs, Adelaide, 1978–2006.Source: SAWSA 2006; Harlow 2003.




ground for the accumulation of social capitalwhich, in turn, has facilitated access to facilities,the growth of participation, and the creation of further social networks.

The consolidation phase was accompanied by

a shift in the pattern of distribution of clubs. Bythe mid 1990s the region showed a pattern of club location that would characterise the sportfor the following decade. In 1996, there were 23clubs organised in four divisions, and at leastone club was located in each sub-region (Fig. 2).The distribution of clubs shifted from the nearlyexclusive association with the northern sub-region in the foundation phase, to the markeddominance of the central sub-region, which wasto become typical of the achievement phase. By2006, there were 34 clubs, seventeen of which

were based in the central sub-region, eleven inthe northern, four in the outer, and only two inthe southern sub-region (Fig. 2).

In the consolidation phase, women’s socceralso overcame its early ‘ethnic flavour’. Despiteits early links with UK migrants and the mark-edly ethnic character of the local men’s soccerscene (Charles, 1994; Harlow, 2003; Rosso,2007), women’s soccer in Adelaide neverevolved in an ‘ethnic game’ (Danforth, 2001).Many of the current clubs were formed aswomen’s sections of men’s clubs and may stillpreserve links with ethnic communities aroundAdelaide (Rosso, 2007), but the sport has gener-ally displayed an inclusive ethnic approach. Areason for this could be the limited numbers of participants. In Adelaide, for example, there wereonly just over 1,000 players in 2006 (Rosso,2006), and the exclusion of players on the basisof ethnicity would pose significant strains onthe viability of clubs. Another reason lies withthe historical legacy of the consolidation phaseof women’s soccer in Adelaide. During the con-

solidation phase, the ethnic character of men’sclubs was being challenged by the outcomesof the Bradley report of 1992 (Danforth, 2001),which led to a sustained effort by the nationalsoccer governing institutions to moderate theethnic values associated with most major Austra-lian soccer clubs. The women’s sport, therefore,developed in a sporting and cultural environ-ment that promoted (at least ethnic) inclusion asopposed to exclusiveness.

The achievement phase

By the mid-1990s, Adelaide women’s soccer wasready for a new phase of expansion, character-ised by a radical change of approach to the devel-

opment of the game, new links with the globalworld of sport, the use of more professionalplaying venues, a broader pattern of club distri-bution, and a clear spatial association betweenthe elite dimension of the sport and the central

sub-region. In the second half of the 1990s, thesport shifted from a recreational and social focusto something more result-orientated, concernedwith the accomplishment of formal sportingsuccess, and ultimately aimed at the productionof elite athletes.

The transition from the consolidation to theachievement phase of Adelaide women’s soccerwas underpinned by events transcending thelocal sphere. In 1994, following the inclusion of women’s soccer in the Olympic Games and Syd-ney’s successful bid to host the 2000 Olympics,

one of the five women’s soccer Intensive Train-ing Centres (ITCs) in the country was locatedin South Australia (Harlow, 2003). Mr KevinMcCormack, current Head Coach of women’ssoccer at SASI, explained that, since 1995, theITC has delivered a programme for the long-termdevelopment of elite players (2006, interview).The programme, supported by state governmentin partnership with the Australian Sports Com-mission, is ultimately aimed at the introductionof locally grown talented individuals to moreadvanced development programmes run by theAustralian Institute of Sport (AIS), or into thenational teams system (McCormack 2006, inter-view). The ITC provides local players with thebenefits of high-quality intensive training pro-grammes, delivered by a full-time ITC coachthrough the facilities of SASI. The role of theITC coach is:

To identify and develop players for interna-tional football, to be a leader within the localsport of women’s football, to provide supportto the State teams and to provide development

opportunities for coaches, but mostly forplayers (McCormack 2006, interview).

The ITC is a clear manifestation of the transitionof local women’s soccer into a phase of formalachievement. It demonstrates that the focus of South Australian women’s soccer has nowshifted from mere success in local leagues to thedevelopment of high-quality players. The ITCalso links Adelaide women’s soccer to the globalworld of sport. In its achievement phase, SouthAustralian women’s soccer competes with the

other Australian states in terms of production of elite players, for the enhancement of the globalcompetitiveness of the Australian national teams.




The beginning of this new phase for Adelaidewomen’s soccer can be seen as a product of thecultural dimension of the globalisation of sport,linked directly to the multiplication of Olympicsports and the internationalisation of competi-

tions (Houlihan, 2004). The events that favouredthis new evolution were the recognition of women’s soccer as an Olympic discipline andthe nomination of Sydney as the host city forthe 2000 Olympic Games. The pressures deriv-ing from the need for increased internationalcompetitiveness in Australian women’s soccerprompted a top-down intervention by nationalsporting institutions, which saw the need for astructured large-scale plan to ensure the produc-tion of talented footballers. The new emphasison the production of players resulted in unprec-

edented availability of federal funds to developthe sport at the local level.

. . . as soon as that [the successful bid of Sydney to host the 2000 Olympics] happened,the Federal government put in place fundingfor sports across the Country [. . .]. Adelaidewas able to access some of that money [. . .]and all of a sudden the opportunity to play inthe Olympics and the World Cup . . . wetalked about it much more often (McCormack 2006, interview).

Together, the availability of funds and the part-nership between federal and state sport institu-tions generated the momentum for an importantshift in the approach to the development of women’s soccer in the Adelaide region. Thepurpose of the local sport shifted from re-creational and social to being result-orientated.The new focus on producing players for thenational system conferred upon Adelaidewomen’s soccer the characteristics of a trueachievement sport (Bale, 2003). Furthermore, the

effects of women’s soccer’s globalisation createdfavourable conditions for the accumulation of further social capital due to the developmentof formal networks between the Adelaide andthe national systems. The ability to gain access tohigh-quality networks is a significant deter-minant of social capital creation (Stone andHughes, 2002), which in turn is assumed tofacilitate regional development (Beer et al.,2003). Effective connections with the nationalsystem offer important benefits for the local envi-ronment, in terms of knowledge transfer from the

national to the state systems (for example coach-ing knowledge and skills, player development,delivery of programmes and management of

organisations). Social capital, therefore, couldplay an important role in the achievement phaseof women’s soccer in Adelaide, as it played apart in the establishment of a formal women’ssoccer system (1978) when the SAWSA founders

acquired the necessary knowledge from theirVictorian counterparts.

Interestingly, while social capital is generallyseen as a ‘bottom-up’phenomenon that originateswith people (Onyx and Bullen, 2000), socialcapital created through interaction betweenthe Adelaide and the national systems originatedfrom direct top-down government interven-tion. This suggests that sport governing bodiesmay have an important role to play in terms of fostering networks between sport associations’members and of promoting connectivity through-

out sporting systems.

Achievement policy approachThe shift of women’s soccer from a recreationalto an achievement sport has also been character-ised by important changes in policy approach.During the 1990s, the approach of SAWSA tothe development of the sport became increas-ingly professional and was aimed specifically atraising the profile of the local game and estab-lishing a sustainable local junior system. Thenew course of these policies led to the launch of the SAWSA Premier League, the consolidationof the junior state teams system, and the es-tablishment of junior state development squads(Carter 2006, interview). Other significant inno-vations of the achievement phase include theagreement with the South Australian Soccer Fed-eration (SASF) on the use of Hindmarsh Stadiumfor major women’s soccer events; the appoint-ment of a full-time SAWSA executive officer;the centralisation of SAWSA administration; theestablishment of a permanent office at the SASF

headquarters (Harlow, 2003); and the acquisi-tion of a specific women’s soccer venue in theAdelaide Parklands (Carter 2006, interview).Furthermore, SAWSA consistently followed apolicy with an explicit focus on junior develop-ment, which enabled remarkable growth inparticipation in the younger age groups acrossthe Adelaide region between 1996 and 2006(Rosso, 2006). Another factor that contributed tothe enhancement of the profile of the local sporthas been the increased emphasis on promotion of the game, especially by means of regular news-

letters (Harlow, 2003), the creation of a SAWSAweb site, and the organisation of soccer clinicsfor girls at numerous Adelaide primary schools




(Carter 2006, interview). Furthermore, as pointedout by Ms. Margaret Bowden, a local radio com-mentator actively involved with women’s soccer,one Adelaide radio station began broadcastingmajor local women’s soccer games in the mid-

1990s, and has produced a weekly Sunday showon the local game since 2000 (2006, interview).

The establishment of a structured juniorsystem has been a fundamental step in thetransition to the achievement phase. Reflectingthe national demand for talented players, and theincreased career opportunities offered by theglobalising world of women’s soccer, the juniorage groups (currently Under 11, Under 13, Under15 and Under 17) have been the greatest factorof growth in the Adelaide game in the lastfew years. Commenting on the growth of

women’s soccer in Adelaide and in Australia inthe last decade, Mr. McCormack, current HeadCoach of women’s soccer at SASI, points to thesignificance of the junior component of the sport(2006, interview):

The sport is growing in profile since the2000 Olympics, it’s seen around the world asthe fastest growing team sport for females. . . it’s relatively cheap to play, very sociable[. . .]. There has been a steady growth inAustralia and South Australia because of the

interest generated by the girls and also theopportunities that are created for femaleplayers now. There is potential, you know,there’s a career path, some girls have beenpaid, there are opportunities to play Olympicsand World Cups.

While women’s soccer in Australia is not a pro-fessional sport, its inclusion in the Olympics andin regular World Cup tournaments, and itsincreasingly structured organisation have shiftedits focus to the international stage. Local junior

development is increasingly linked with thenational and international arenas, with the SASIprogramme, the National Summer League seriesand the junior state teams system aimed at theidentification of high-quality players and theirintroduction into the national teams (SouthAustralian Women’s Soccer Association, 2006).Career paths for Adelaide women’s soccerplayers include inclusion in the junior stateteams, selection in the senior National SummerLeague team (Adelaide Sensation), selectionin one of the youth or senior Australian teams

for international competitions (including theOlympic Games, World Cup and Asian Women’sCup), and experiences in high-profile foreign

leagues. In the late 1990s and early 2000s,several South Australian players successfullymoved to prestigious leagues in the U.K. andU.S. (Harlow, 2003). The collapse of the world’sonly entirely professional women’s soccer

league in U.S.A. in 2003, after only three seasonsof life (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2003),has reduced the opportunities for South Austra-lian players to pursue professional careers. Butmoving overseas, particularly to American col-leges, still represents an important goal for manylocal athletes (Bowden 2006, interview).

Geography of achievementBale (1982) points out that, just as stereotypes of sport participants often contribute significantly tothe image of a given sport, certain sports regions

may be perceived as more deeply related to thesport in question than others. In Adelaide, astrong connection now exists between women’ssoccer and the central sub-region, and it goesbeyond issues of clubs’ and teams’ provision.While the central sub-region accounts for thehighest number of clubs (Fig. 2), the northernsub-region offers more clubs per capita than thecentral sub-region (in the outer and southern sub-regions, by contrast, the per capita provision of clubs is low, partly due to different sporting cul-tures and limited availability of physical facilities(Rosso, 2006)). The central sub-region, however,shows exclusive connections with the elementsthat characterise the achievement phase, in par-ticular the production of players, the emergenceof women’s soccer ‘sportscapes’ (Bale, 2003),and the links with global women’s soccer.

The achievement aspect of Adelaide women’ssoccer is most evident through the role of thelocal system in the national structure, whichconsists of the development of local playersfor national and international competitions. It is,

therefore, a response to a new demand for inter-national competitiveness, fostered by the in-creasing internationalisation of women’s soccercompetitions. To a certain extent, women’ssoccer as an achievement sport is a by-product of the globalisation of women’s soccer, in which theAdelaide system establishes links with the inter-national world of sport, and competes with otherAustralian states in the production of inter-national players. This process of the globali-sation of Adelaide women’s soccer, however, isrestricted only to a limited subset of Adelaide’s

metropolitan area. The great majority of SouthAustralian elite players are produced in thecentral sub-region, where all the venues hosting




locally-held national and international women’ssoccer events, all the high-profile trainingvenues, and the majority of higher-profile clubsare located. This geography of achievement linksAdelaide women’s soccer with the global world

of sport on the one hand, but on the other itexacerbates the differences between the varioussub-regions of metropolitan Adelaide, and theremainder of the state, in terms of engagementwith the sport. It simultaneously widens theboundaries of women’s soccer from local tointernational, whilst funnelling access to itshighest level to the central area of Adelaide’smetropolitan region.

Places of productionThe central sub-region is now the most signifi-

cant place of production of high-quality players,in particular junior players. Since the introduc-tion of junior leagues in 1997, the central clubs,and particularly those involved in the PremierLeague, have been the most effective in develop-ing their junior systems and attracting goodquality coaches (Carter 2006, interview). Sincethe 1990s, furthermore, the central sub-regionhas been the location of the great majority of Adelaide top women’s soccer clubs. Between

1996 and 2006, the proportion of central clubsparticipating in the top SAWSAcompetition (for-merly First Division, currently named PremierLeague) has increased from four out of eight, toseven out of nine (Fig. 3).

The association between Premier Leagueclubs and junior development is an importantone. In order to promote junior development,SAWSA requires that all clubs competing in thePremier League incorporate at least one juniorsquad. Moreover, since the Premier Leagueclubs are perceived as the most successful, theyare more attractive to young players (Carter2006, interview). The combination of these twofactors, and the snowball effect that makesattractive clubs more successful, and thereforeeven more attractive (McCormack 2006, inter-

view), result in a close association betweenPremier League clubs and junior participation.

For the purpose of this analysis, given the sig-nificance of selection into the State teams in termsof future career path (South Australian Women’sSoccer Association, 2006), elite players aredefined as those selected to represent SouthAustralia as State team members or as playersof the South Australian team competing in theNational Summer League (Adelaide Sensation).

Figure 3 Changing spatial distribution of women’s soccer clubs participating in the top competition, Adelaide, 1996–2006.Source: SAWSA 2006, 2001, 1996.




The engagement of the central sub-region withthe achievement phase of women’s soccer, interms of production of elite players, is almostexclusive. Figure 4 illustrates the sub-regionalproduction of elite players in terms of the loca-

tion of the clubs for which those players nor-mally play.

Between 2001 and 2005 the share of stateplayers and National Summer League playersregistered with clubs located in the central sub-region increased from about 65 per cent to over71 per cent of the total South Australian output. Itis interesting to note that nearly 20 per cent of allSouth Australian elite players do not play for anySAWSA club. These are typically players train-ing full-time within the SASI programme, whoplay in the State teams and the National Summer

League team, but are not permitted to play forlocal clubs in order to avoid excessive psycho-physical stress (McCormack 2006, interview).This figure makes the dominance of the centralsub-region in terms of elite players’ productioneven more striking.

The southern sub-region which, in 2001,produced over thirteen per cent of all SouthAustralian elite players, did not produce any in2005. This is largely due to the collapse, in 2004,of the only club that represented the southernsub-region in the Premier League, and the factthat, since then, achievement-minded playersfrom the south have had to commute to othersub-regions if they want to play with a highprofile club (Rosso, 2006). The northern and theouter sub-regions have both increased their pro-duction of elite players; however in 2005 bothonly accounted for a minimal proportion of theState’s output. While, in the central sub-region,

there are clubs closely involved with the achi-evement phase, in other sub-regions the clubs arestill in a phase of establishment of basic socialnetworks (Rosso, 2006). The central sub-regionseems to enjoy higher levels of social capital in

terms of the efficiency of the networks betweenits clubs, and particularly the Premier Leagueclubs, and the achievement milieu of localwomen’s soccer. Stronger connections with theachievement milieu may ultimately result inbetter ability to access coaches, players and otherenabling resources to further increase the qualityof the sub-region’s sporting results.

SportscapesThe achievement character of the central sub-region appears clear also in the location of the

most significant women’s soccer venues of theAdelaide region (Fig. 5). One of the most recentinnovations in Adelaide women’s soccer, whichsuggests its evolution into an achievementsport, is the association between the game andcertain specific, higher-profile, ‘sportscapes’(Bale, 2003, 131). The kind of ‘sportscapes’ useddefines Adelaide women’s soccer distinguishingbetween local, club-based, competitions and theachievement level, comprising the SASI squads,the National Summer League team (AdelaideSensation), and the state teams. While the localwomen’s soccer clubs still use facilities in sub-urban parks and reserves, frequently shared withother sports clubs (and at times with men’ssoccer clubs), and typical of non-achievementsports, at the achievement level, the use of ‘sportscapes’ increasingly resembles the use of space typical of professional sports (Bale, 2003).The achievement level is the dimension of localwomen’s soccer that crosses the regional bound-aries to link Adelaide with global women’ssoccer. The ‘achievement sportscapes’ embody

the new global dimension of South Australianwomen’s soccer. On one hand, the new ‘sports-capes’ create a sense of place for people partici-pating or assisting in sporting performances(Bale, 1994), and on the other, they contribute torising the profile of the sport. The new ‘sports-capes’ of Adelaide women’s soccer, however, areall located in the central sub-region, and contri-bute also to funnel the connections between thelocal and the global sports to a restricted centralpart of the metropolitan area (Fig. 5). The localclubs use these ‘sportscapes’ only occasionally,

in conjunction with the SAWSA Cup semi-finals,the SAWSA Cup grand final, and sporadic exhi-bition games.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Central Northern Outer Southern Other*

Sub-regions

N u m b e r o f p l a y e r s 2001

2005

Figure 4 Elite South Australian players by sub-region of club registration, 2001–2005.* Players not playing for SAWSA clubs.Source: SAWSA 2005; 2001.




The venues that arguably characteriseAdelaide women’s soccer as an achievementsport are Hindmarsh Stadium, Santos Stadium,Marden Sport Complex, and SAWSA Park. AsFigure 5 shows, all of these ‘sportscapes’ are

located in the central sub-region.Hindmarsh Stadium (capacity: 15,500),

located in the inner western suburb of Hindmarshis locally recognised as the ‘home of soccer’(Carter 2006, interview). It hosts all the impor-tant soccer (men’s and women’s) events takingplace in Adelaide, including the matches of the Australian national team. As Carter (2006,interview) suggests, not being associated withHindmarsh would mean not being associatedwith ‘serious’ soccer, regardless of gender dif-ferences. It is the showcase of local soccer,

and increasingly of local women’s soccer.The stadium has been used consistently for theSAWSA Cup grand finals since 2001 and, occa-sionally, for other exhibition matches aimedat raising interest in the sport (Carter 2006,interview). Furthermore, in 2006, its links withwomen’s soccer extended to the internationalstage, when it hosted the prestigious AsianFootball Confederation Women’s Championship(Football Federation Australia, 2006).

The other ‘sportscapes’ are significantlysmaller and less professional than HindmarshStadium. However it is important to mentiontheir utilisation, as a further example of the

increasingly professional approach that charac-terised the last decade of local women’s soccer.Santos Stadium (capacity: 8,000), located in theinner suburb of Keswick, was designed primarilyfor athletics, not soccer, but it has been the

regular venue for home games of the SASIwomen’s squad since May 2004 (McCormack 2006, interview). Marden Sport Complex (capac-ity: 6,000), located in the inner eastern suburbof Marden, has been used for the home gamesof the Adelaide Sensation, the South Australianteam competing in the National Summer League,since 2003 (McCormack 2006, interview). Thisstadium is smaller than Santos, and it is usuallyused by the local men’s soccer club AdelaideBlue Eagles for home games. The last venuedescribed here is not a stadium; nevertheless it

strongly represents the achievement character of Adelaide women’s soccer, since it is the onlyfacility designed and built specifically for it.SAWSA Park, located in the southern Parklands,was conceived to provide local women’s soccerwith a real, permanent ‘home’ (Carter 2006,interview). It was established in 2004, andcurrently incorporates two full-sized soccergrounds, a smaller training ground, full lighting,and refurbished change rooms and amenities(Carter 2006, interview). Since its acquisitionfrom the Adelaide City Council, it has beenused for the SAWSA Cup semi-finals, the Statedevelopment programmes, and the State teams’

Figure 5 Women’s soccer ‘sportscapes’, Adelaide, 2006.Source: Rosso 2006.




programmes. Its central location is the result of adeliberate decision of SAWSA, seeking to facili-tate the accessibility to its core facility from allareas (Carter 2006, interview). However, as withthe location of the other ‘sportscapes’, it contrib-

utes to the identification of the central sub-regionas the achievement place of Adelaide women’ssoccer.

ConclusionThe spatial character of women’s soccer in theAdelaide region has changed greatly since thefoundation of SAWSA in 1978. In its foundationphase, the sport was associated strongly with thenorthern sub-region, with most of the clubs com-peting in official leagues located in that area(Fig. 2). As the sport consolidated, the location

of women’s soccer clubs spread from the north-ern suburbs into the central, and, to a lesserextent, to the southern and outer sub-regions(Fig. 2). The central sub-region, in particular,overtook the northern sub-region as the coreof women’s soccer during the 1990s, and ithas retained this character to the present day.The changes in sub-regional impact on localwomen’s soccer, especially over the last decade(achievement phase), took place due to thecumulative effect of a number of factors. Theseinclude the increased concentration of clubs inthe central sub-region (Fig. 2); the majority of Premier League clubs being located in the samesub-region (Fig. 3); the stronger focus of centralclubs (especially Premier League clubs) onbuilding sustainable junior systems; the strongerengagement between several large central clubs(especially Premier League clubs) and thedevelopment-oriented policy approach favouredby SAWSA. The perception of the central sub-region as the hub of Adelaide women’s soccer isreinforced by the central location of all the new

‘achievement sportscapes’ and the greater capac-ity of the central clubs to produce elite women’ssoccer players. In particular, the production of players is the element that contributes most tolink the central sub-region with the achievementphase of women’s soccer, and its recently devel-oped global dimension.

The achievement phase appears to be aproduct of the process of globalisation of women’s soccer. The demands of internationalcompetition (e.g. Olympic Games) require thenational system to increase its focus on the

production of high-quality players. The statesystems, in turn, compete with each other to con-tribute to the national output of high-quality

players, by developing local footballers to par-ticipate in national tournaments, where they maybe identified by national observers. On the onehand, the new achievement character of Adelaidewomen’s soccer has favoured the strengthening

of links between the local and the national andinternational scenes. On the other, the globallinks created by the achievement phase displayan almost exclusive relationship with the centralsub-region. Moreover, the access to additionalresources due to the social capital accumulatedthrough new networks between the local andthe global dimensions will probably increase theengagement of the central sub-region with globalwomen’s soccer, and increase the gap betweenthe central and the other sub-regions.

The role of social capital in the development of

Adelaide women’s soccer appears to have beenan important one, and warrants further investiga-tion. From this study, it appears to have enabledthe transition from an informal to a formal phaseand the foundation of SAWSA, and it hasarguably contributed to the establishment of theachievement phase, favouring transfer of knowl-edge from the national to the state systems. Poli-cies aimed at strengthening social capital at thesub-regional level, therefore, may increase theability of local clubs to gain access to externalresources, including facilities, players, coaches,volunteers and know-how. The ability to increasethe levels of ‘bridging’social capital, particularlyin the ‘achievement-excluded’ sub-regions, couldfacilitate the involvement of a wider proportionof the Adelaide region and the state with globalwomen’s soccer. Increased regional access toglobal resources may, in turn, increase the com-petitiveness of the local sporting system at theglobal scale.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSMy gratitude goes to the South Australian Women’s SoccerAssociation (SAWSA) for the provision of the data thatenabled my research on South Australian women’s soccer,the South Australian Institute of Sport (SASI), the FootballFederation Australia (FFA) and all those who, in 2006, par-ticipated in the interviews and contributed to the realisation of this paper. I sincerely thank Associate Professor Clive Forsterand Professor Iain Hay of the School of Geography, Popula-tion and Environmental Management of Flinders University,for the precious assistance they have provided in terms of expertise, encouragement and enthusiasm, and without whomthis work would not have been possible.

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