00:00 The Queensland African Cup of Nations has players kicking goals on and off the pitch.
00:07 Starting just three years ago, participation has soared.
00:15 As girls we don't really have a lot of opportunity when it comes to soccer, especially in the
00:19 African community because a lot of our parents think soccer are not for girls, they're mostly
00:24 for boys. But we made it our mission to change that.
00:29 And change they did. Now there are five women's teams in the tournament.
00:34 It gives us an opportunity to show what we can do. We can be better than boys. I don't
00:38 know if you know, but we can be better than boys. Yeah, I love this game.
00:45 Community leaders say love for this game is also changing narratives.
00:50 It's important that we see the potential in the young people, then actually the problems
00:55 or the challenges and you can see with the numbers, the participation, the turn up, not
01:00 many events or activities can attract this large number of young people.
01:05 The Cup is also inspiring the next generation. There's a lot of youth or young boys here
01:11 that are looking up to the players, a lot of them wanting photos and wanting our jerseys
01:17 after the game. I feel like as a football player, you can
01:20 be a role model, you can be anything through football.
01:27 Bringing pride to their home countries. Being a part of this team, it's more than
01:33 just the girls itself, it's about playing for your own country as well, people back
01:38 home are even supporting you. It's like coming back home but without taking
01:42 the flight and going back home. A sense of belonging through sport.
01:49 Go, go, go!
01:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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