Thirroul junior Ashley Dribbus selected for Young Matildas
Brad Walter
Congratulations to Thirroul junior Ashley Dribbus on her selection in the Young Matildas squad to play in the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship Qualifiers in Vietnam from August 25 to September 3.
Ashley played her junior football with Thirroul JFC in the team which is this season's U16.1 side and also featured Dylan Ryan, who earlier this year signed with English Premier League club Liverpool FC.
The 15-year-old recently made her first grade debut for the Illawarra Stingrays in the NSW WNPL 1 competition.
Ashley was invited to attend two Young Matildas camp at the AIS in Canberra last month and was then selected for a second camp before being named in the 23-strong Under 16s squad to be coached by Ante Juric.
She will leave next week for a pre-tournament camp in Hanoi ahead of the AFC U16s Championship Qualifiers, which signify the start of the elite women’s football pathway and the first steps for young female football players who aspire to play for the Matildas.
The AFC U16 Championship Qualifiers serve as the qualifiers for AFC U16 Women’s Championship, which will be played in China in September 2017.
The top three nations from the AFC Championships will progress to the 2018 FIFA U17 World Cup, which will be played in Uruguay.
Australia is in Group D along with Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Palestine and Iraq and opens their campaign against Palestine on 25 August at the Vietnam Youth Training Centre in Hanoi.
