Haneen Zrieka is an 18-year-old from Sydney who loved playing rugby league with her brothers, but like many other girls, was forced to quit at 13.
Luckily, Haneen had a teacher who believed in her and encouraged her to pursue her dream: playing AFL.
Now, she’s a proud team member of the Auburn Giants in Sydney and has been selected to participate in the very first NAB AFL Women’s Academy in 2017.
“Being [from] a Lebanese multicultural background, it’s really hard for any girls to do sport because parents don’t really allow women to do sport,” Haneen said.
“If I could do one thing, it’s paying it forward to young girls who are Lebanese. To show them that I had someone there for me [and], if they want, I’ll be there for them to show them you can actually be an elite. You can actually play AFL. You can do what you want to do.”
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Haneen’s love for footy is undeniable, as is the passion of all budding sport stars around the country.
And those up-and-coming sporting guns are exactly who we want to find.
Along with the AFL Women’s, Mamamia is proudly introducing Sport. My Way – a four-part video series that celebrates young women and girls who are doing amazing things in sport, just like Haneen.
If you know a girl aged 5 – 16 who is excelling in her chosen sport, send in a short video of them for a chance to be profiled on the Mamamia website and AFLW social channels.
Your video should be under 1 x min in length, have the sports star introduce themselves, showcase their talent and tell us why they love playing sport.
Stand-out talent will be selected for appearance in the AFLW & Mamamia Sport. My Way video series. Simply upload your video to YouTube and send the link to submissions@mamamia.com.au
Good luck!
You can watch Haneen in action during this Friday night’s NAB AFL Women’s U18 Champs match when NSW/ACT take on QLD.
The game will kick off at 6:30pm AEDT at Blacktown International Sportspark, Sydney. You can also stream the game live here.
