Melville United is hopeful of being confirmed as a training venue for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 – while three of the club’s brightest academy women’s talents also have an eye on the opportunities the tournament may bring.

Charlotte Eagle, Manaia Elliott and Ella McMillan recently returned from a New Zealand Football under 17 ID camp in Christchurch full of excitement for what the future holds both at Gower Park and for women’s football throughout the country.

“Knowing that the best players in the world will be training a couple pitches over from the Academy is pretty amazing,” McMillan said. “It’s incredible, to be able to have the types of footballers you want to be when you’re older training and playing on your front doorstep is amazing,” Elliott said.

Both have made big strides in 2021. Melville Technical Director Sam Wilkinson encouraged both to play in the boys under 15 Academy side in the Northern Region Youth League, and for Elliott it has provided her with a foundation for success.

“I didn’t really know what to expect but I was confident I could get to that same level as the rest of the players. Being pushed every week in the academy has been great for my development and it showed in Christchurch.

“It was a great opportunity and I was keen to prove that I should be there, not just because I’m a girl but because I’m at the same level as the rest of the players in the squad,” she said of her academy season.

The speed and physicality of training and playing regularly with boys helped both players in Christchurch, with the former one of the key focuses of the camp, which according to Elliott was a highly competitive one.

“You’re pushing each other because you feel like you’re fighting for a position in the squad, you don’t always get that in the club environment.

McMillan agreed. “Training and playing with boys definitely helped me, as a defender I’m more comfortable dealing with quicker girls and am able using my body better.”

Not to be outdone, goalkeeper Eagle has also benefited from the specialised work she has received in the academy, as well as joining in women’s first team trainings when possible, with her selection recognition of the work put in on Gower Park #6.

“Getting that dedicated goalkeeping session before the academy session was a huge benefit this season.”

Last month, the Wellington Phoenix created New Zealand’s first ever professional women’s football team, a valuable platform for young Kiwi footballers who aspire to play the sport they love at an elite level. Naturally, all three are excited for the opportunities a W-League team provides.“It opens up opportunities that weren’t there before. You’ve now got the opportunity to play professionally in New Zealand and that’s a goal of mine to push for,” Eagle said.

“To see people that you’ve watched or trained or played against before singing, puts things into perspective that it could be us in a couple years, makes it more real,” McMillan said.

“It’s awesome that there’s a pathway in New Zealand for female athletes to progress and play professionally and something that I aspire to be a part of.”

For Elliott, it is even more tangible having trained regularly with the majority of the Wellington Phoenix squad. On top of her development in the Melville United Football Academy, she was also part of the Football Ferns Development Programme based in Auckland under the guidance of Gemma Lewis – who has been appointed as the inaugural coach of the Phoenix team.

“It’s great that there’s another team to aim for, as well as being able to play for New Zealand in age group world cups, you’ve now got the W-League as well.”

The immediate target for all three will be the next under 17 world cup which has been rescheduled for 2022 in India.

But with two Waikato-products – Kelli Brown and Grace Wisnewski – in the initial intake at the Wellington Phoenix, it might not be long before the Melville United Academy is also celebrating its first professional women’s player.