Woden Valley Soccer Club's fight to have a "devastating" Capital Football decision overturned has gained further support at the Legislative Assembly, with concerns of sexism also raised by government officials.
Club patron, former player and ACT Treasurer Chris Steel backed a petition from Woden Valley which was tabled at the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, with Minister for Women Marisa Paterson, Sport Minister Yvette Berry, and MLAs Fiona Carrick and Caitlin Tough, all throwing their support behind the cause too.
Woden Valley was calling on Capital Football to add the club to the National Premier League Girls ranks next year, arguing that the sporting body's recent decisions to exclude them were unfair.
The club ran a successful public campaign, with its official petition - which closed submissions a week early due to the overwhelming support - gaining 1053 signatures.
"Woden Valley Soccer Club is [one of] Canberra's largest junior football clubs, with over 1600 registered players, and the highest female participation in the ACT," Steel said on Thursday.
"Despite being one of the most successful junior girls clubs in the under-10s through to the under-13s, Woden Valley Soccer Club is not represented in the NPL girls competition... this is limiting pathways for girls."
NPL Girls programs provide greater training and competition for players to develop to a higher level, and without it Woden Valley has seen juniors forced to leave to rival teams that do offer the opportunity, fracturing friendships and valuable community foundations.
Jilly, 13, faces the prospect of having to leave the club to play NPL Girls at another club after this season, but desperately hopes she can stay at Woden Valley.
"I don't want to lose this team," she told The Canberra Times outside the Legislative Assembly.
Woden Valley has blamed Capital Football for preventing them from promotion in previous years. In 2024, delayed communication from Capital Football confirming the club's earned promotion to the NPL Girls competitions meant Woden Valley reluctantly had to withdraw from the opportunity.
Then in late 2025, amid Gungahlin United's collapse, Capital Football declared all NPL competitions would not have promotion or relegation in 2026, meaning Woden Valley didn't have a chance to ascend to the NPL Girls levels until at least 2028.
Paterson addressed the Legislative Assembly, and said the club was also the victim of "gender inequality", because in the same Capital Football announcement last year pausing promotion and relegation, the NPL Boys program was expanded from 10 teams to 12, while the NPL Girls stayed at eight clubs, without Woden Valley included.
"At first glance, this may seem like just a local football issue. It is not. It is a clear question of whether girls are being afforded the same opportunities, pathways, and support as boys," the Minister for Women said.
"[Woden Valley] is a leader in developing girls' football at the grassroots level, with strong and successful teams at the younger age groups ... this is inequality.
"Boys in equivalent teams can see and access a clear pathway through to elite competition. Girls at Woden Valley cannot.
"Instead, they're required to leave their club and leave their community to continue progressing. This is a clear and obvious structural barrier.
"Gender equity in sport is not just about getting girls onto the field, it's about ensuring that they can stay, develop, and succeed on equal terms.
"If we accept a system where the largest female participation base in the territory does not translate to elite opportunities, then we're sending the wrong message to young women that their commitment is not valued or supported, and progression is conditional."
In February, Woden Valley lodged an appeal to Capital Football, but it wasn't until last week, four months later, that the club was informed of the board's decision from a meeting on May 28 to uphold its stance on halting promotion and relegation.
Capital Football chair Sarah Baker-Goldsmith did keep the door open for Woden Valley to join NPL Girls divisions if other clubs fail to meet their conditions of entry or withdraw for next season.
However, the petition's success and a lack of guarantee from Capital Football, has prompted further action from the southside sports community.
"We don't believe Capital Football's decisions are valid or hold water anymore," Woden Valley pathways coach, John Coates, said.
"We will be putting in a further, much more detailed submission next week, which will seek to explain the merits of our case, and we would like to sit down with Capital Football and discuss that.
"This has been devastating for our club. The girls would prefer to play for their junior club so it is very upsetting.
"We just want the club to be treated fairly and we don't believe that's occurred."
Lottie, a 12-year-old Woden Valley junior, said she dreads having the team she's played with for years being forced to break up.
"One of our players left just yesterday to go to a club that supports them with NPL, and I feel that if we don't get NPL, we're going to be split up, and I just really don't want to lose these friends," she said.
"Having the NPL also means that we can support future generations of girls and let them pursue their soccer dreams.
"What does it cost Capital Football to give us NPL? Whatever it costs them, it certainly costs us more."
Minister Berry said at the Legislative Assembly that she had recently met with Capital Football and raised the Woden Valley petition with them.
"They knew that there was a petition out there for the club. I did tell them to expect a letter from me," she said.
"While at the end of the day the decision is with Capital Football, I think the many voices in this place, as well as the over 1000 voices on a petition may perhaps influence Capital Football to change their decision."
Capital Football was contacted for comment.
