The definitive guide to every woman who has pulled on the green-and-gold for Australia and played for the Matildas.

SYDNEY, NSW, AUSTRALIA, June 27, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Just weeks ahead of Australia co-hosting with New Zealand the Women’s Football World Cup, a new ‘Encyclopedia of Matildas World Cup Edition’ by Andrew Howe and Greg Werner has been released.

It is the only A-Z guide in the world of every woman who has played for a national team, and sheds light on the facts, figures and history of over 270 women who have pulled on the green-and-gold for Australia.

The definitive statistical and biographical compendium of Australian football’s iconic women’s national team, the World Cup Edition includes every player who has played an A international, as well as the players who have played in non-A internationals, going back to the mid-1970s.

Coming in at 236 pages, with more than 100 photos and diagrams, the fully up-to-date Encyclopedia of Matildas is a labour of love for Andrew Howe from Adelaide, and his co-author Greg Werner of Sydney.

A population expert by day with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Howe is also the official statistician for Australian football, while Werner has spent many years tracing the grassroots football clubs of all national team players.

On why the World Cup edition needed to be written, Howe says: “2023 marks a special time in the evolution of the Matildas, with the hosting of a World Cup on home soil. As well as the women who have represented Australia, there is a team of people behind them, as well as fans, who have helped carry our national team from humble beginnings to our hard-earned place among football’s elite on the grandest of world stages.”

The Matildas are ranked 10th in the world heading into the World Cup.

The information in the Encyclopedia includes facts and figures on games, goals, opponents, and biographical information. There are also detailed tables showing who Australia has played, where games have taken place, the captains, the coaches, and the record holders.

In addition to the Matildas feats, the Encyclopedia includes facts and figures on the national women’s leagues from their inception in 1996 until the present day.

Andrew Howe and Greg Werner will be among the featured guests at the forthcoming Football Writers’ Festival to be held in Sydney from 15-17th July, days prior to the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The festival brings together a melting pot of readers, authors, writers, and interested voices in an environment that encourages and inspires meaningful and respectful debate and discussion.

ENDS

About Andrew Howe

Andrew Howe grew up in Sydney where his first sporting passion was for the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team and his academic ability was for statistics and history.

Andrew attended his first national soccer league game between APIA Leichhardt and Marconi in 1988 and fell in love with the round ball code there and then.

An inquisitive mind led to Andrew searching for more information about the history of soccer in Australia and, not satisfied with what he found, he set about developing his own record of the sport. A Bachelor of Economics graduate from Macquarie University, Andrew's sporting statistics career then developed alongside his professional career as a demographer with the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

By the mid-1990s, Andrew's soccer stats and history were being used by media throughout Australia, and in 1999 he began his role with the game's governing body—now Football Australia—as honorary statistician, a position he has held since then. Andrew's statistical record for Australian national teams, national leagues and the country's players has been treated as the official record throughout this time.

Not just a collector of statistics, Andrew presents his work in innovative ways and uses dynamic visualisations and maps as well.

About Greg Werner

Greg Werner began the GrassRoots Football Project (GFP) in 2014, tracking down and talking to any player he could find, Socceroo or Matilda, whether they played one game or 100. Over the ensuing years, the connection with the Matildas has deepened as each player has unveiled her story.

Greg is also the head of the Heritage Committee at Football NSW and the initiator of The Great Save, whose goal is to undercover, resurrect and preserve he artefacts that tell the story of football in NSW.

Whitney Erickson
Watterson PR
+61 402 322 872
whitney.erickson@watterson.com.au
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