Meaghan Kempson(back row, 3rd from the right) with the Young Matildas squad and coaching staff. Meaghan was named Coach, Trainer or Manager of the year at the Australia Day Awards in 2021.
Parkes High School PE teacher and Parkes Cobras coach Meaghan Kempson will be going with the Young Matildas to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2022 in Costa Rica.
Meaghan recently attended the Young Matildas preparation camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for the Under 20’s Women’s World Cup as Equipment Manager. She will be attending more preparation camps in the lead up to the World Cup in Costa Rica from 10th to 28th August.
The Young Matildas coach Leah Blayney, who represented Australia and played in the US, invited Meaghan to join the coaching team at a Young Matildas camp last year. Meaghan is now a valuable member of the coaching staff.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup takes place biennially and sees 16 nations compete against each other for the prize. The competition has seen four past champions; USA, Germany, Japan and Korea DPR.
The tournament was originally planned for 2020 and intended to have Panama as co-host, but it had to be postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Costa Rica were then named sole host.