The five-per-side women’s football tournament has been designed to help connect the Pacifika community to the world game in order to promote health and well-being, and so far it has been a tremendous success with over 70 women participating each week on the field.
The tournament is run through a partnership between the Western Sydney Wanderers and PacifiCast, and involves football and a night market, meaning hundreds of members of the local community have had just as much fun off the field with plenty of music, dancing, food trucks and other entertainment on offer.
Nella Lelo, who is part of the Media Production Team at PacifiCast, admits the event has proven to be an effective way to unite women through the common language of football.
“The best part of the Pacifika Fives competition is the sisterhood, and not just within my own team, but overall in the competition,” said Lelo, who plays for the Pacific Palms team.
“I’ve met so many beautiful women, it’s so much fun, sometimes we’ll be laughing like hyenas and that competitiveness just adds a little bit of excitement to it all.”
There are over 150,000 people in NSW who come from Pacifika backgrounds, with a large number residing in Western Sydney. Women from Pacifika backgrounds have a disproportionately high rate of diabetes and cardiovascular disease compared to the rest of the community, and Lelo admits that one of the purposes of this event is to help fight this battle.
“This competition has encouraged us Pacifika women to prioritise ourselves and put our own health and well-being first, as myself and a lot of the other players are mums, work full time and are just busy women,” said Lelo.
“Generally we are always putting our families and everyone else first, so it’s a fun and exciting to come together for one night of the week to be active, encourage and support each other in our own health and fitness journeys. Being apart of a team gives me a sense of feeling young again.”
Lelo admits the event, which started last year, has been an eye-opener for her and she encouraged women of all backgrounds to strap on their boots and get out onto the field and enjoy everything that football has to offer.
“Social football isn’t something I would of ever imagined playing, but thanks to PacifiCast and the Wanderers for organizing this event, it’s given me that push to just go for it and it’s truly been the highlight of my week.
“If you want to get active with like minded women, I would highly recommend joining a social football team, it’s guaranteed fun!”
The Pacific Storm are the reigning champions and will be a force again this year, however Don’t Kea, the Angels and the Panthers have all proven to be dynamic teams so far in 2025 and will be gunning for the title of Pacifika Champions. The 10 team tournament will run every Monday night at the Wanderers Fives facility at 81 Eastern Rd Rooty Hill, with the grand finale on April 14.
