The First Matildas

Dr Greg Downes completed his Ph.D. in 2016 with Victoria University, in Melbourne, Australia, and currently writes, teaches, and researches women's sports history, sport management, and human services from his home in Lennox Head on the north coast of NSW, Australia. He became interested in women's football due to the involvement of his youngest daughter Caitlin. Greg was involved in many roles over the years his daughter played club, school, and regional representative soccer in northern NSW with the Byron Bay club, including as Chairman of the North Coast Academy of Sport. He has been both clubs- and representative-team manager, club treasurer, regional-committee member, supporter, and general dogsbody.As a parent, Greg became aware of the many injustices and discriminations faced by young girls and women in their pursuit to play the game. During this time he became involved in the fight to make his daughter's involvement in soccer an inclusive one.While studying for his Masters, Greg used examples of these injustices faced by women involved in football as topics for his research. He came to realise that little or no research had been done on the history of women's football in Australia. The voices of the women were unheard and were yet to be written into the history of the game. Greg's Ph.D. research topic, An oral history of women's football in Australia, formed the basis of his book Dedicated Lives - Stories of Pioneers in women's football in Australia published by Fair Play Publishing in 2019.