Today as part of our Female Football Week we would like to recognise and acknowledge Lidija Mitreski who is the Vice President at Cringila Lions Football Club.
Lidija Mitreski is currently the Vice President at Cringila Lions Football Club. She has been directly involved with the club for the past two years within her executive role, as well as being indirectly involved with the club in the space of five years as a volunteer.
As Vice President, Lidija has had many roles and responsibilities, however, one focus has been to introduce female teams to the club. She has been an advocate for diversity and has disintegrated cultural diplomacy.
“My role within the club allows for the promotion of multi-cultural efforts to positively shift perceptions and promote the unparalleled elements of equality, fitness and teamwork,” she said.
“My involvement in the club has seen the removal of barriers of preconceived ideas that women play within the club.”
Since taking on an executive role, Lidija has made a positive impact as there has been a massive inclusion of females within the club, as well as a shift in club culture which has allowed Cringila Lions FC to better position themselves as a club of choice.
“Club culture is key, and we are proud to say that we have created that dynamic,” she said.
“For example, the introduction of the two female squads in 2021. My role has cemented the gateway for female players at CLFC, building foundations of empowerment from player to club and vice versa.”
Today, Lidija has had a massive impact on empowering female football within such a male dominant club. She has shown her support and has always given help where needed. She has always prioritised and focused on all females within the club and has shown great equality.
“Equality across social media, allocation of the facility for training and or other use, has been instrumental to the success of the introduction to females in football at CLFC,” she said.
“It has demonstrated our strong position on females within the club as we continue to demonstrate the empowerment of all our players equally. We do not view the females squads any different to the male squads.
“Personally, I think Female Football Week has helped the community a lot as it is a fantastic initiative to celebrate women in football. However, I do feel that the promotion and marketing of this campaign could have been a bit more prominent so that all female’s achievements would be highly recognised.”
The introduction of their female squad is relatively new; however, the inaugural teams have paved their way for future players at Cringila FC. In 2021, the Lionesses proved to be a dominant side, having been undefeated all year in Division Two.
“The club has positioned our female squad to the top tier of its division in female football,” she said.
“The introduction of our female squad exceeded all our expectations in our first year and we are looking forward to the season ahead.”
