The buzz in women’s football in Dunedin is getting louder.
The Women’s Southern Premiership has been tightly contested if you exclude the unbeaten Dunedin City Royals, Southern United is a month away from its first open trainings, and hosting the Fifa Women’s World Cup in two months is huge for the sport and region.
Southern United coach Kris Ridley has been impressed with the calibre of club football he has seen so far this season.
"From what I heard [of] previous years it was sort of heavily one-sided, but you do have the Royals who are a very good side," Ridley said.
"They do play some very good football which is probably a little bit above the other teams, but the other teams have been quite even.
"It’s good seeing all the Southern United girls at their clubs now just doing their thing.
"I’m impressed with the young girls playing in the women’s competition and some new faces around, too, which I haven’t seen before.
"Hopefully they’re wanting to play Southern United when we name the whole squad."
Southern United will hold a couple of opening training sessions next month, and a few more in July, before the squad is selected at the start of August.
That will give the team at least five weeks together, compared with the two weeks it was dealt last year.
"There’s a good, committed, I guess, core group of girls that I’ve been in touch with that are happy to go again and are quite excited about it.
"Now it’s a matter of finding the new ones, getting them involved and trying to win those first two games."
The Women’s National League has been expanded to 10 teams, with Southern United expected to play about five home games.
Hosting the Women’s World Cup ahead of the season was massive for the sport and Dunedin, Ridley said.
"I guess it’s the biggest thing that’s happened to Dunedin football for quite some time.
"Right now, women’s sport, especially in football, is probably the highest-participated or attended sport for females on the planet.
"We’ve just got to try and get those ticket sales up here in Dunedin and sell the place out. I believe they’re going pretty good at the moment, but it’s just good for everything.
"With the young girls being able to see these world-class players in their home town, maybe it spurs them on to play a bit more football and go from there."
