More than 2,000 people and businesses have already signed a petition and thrown their support behind the #TeamAngelica campaign to have a St Kilda team in the new National Women’s League (NWL).

St Kilda mascot and talented young female footballer, Angelica, is fronting the digital and community campaign, desperate to fulfil her dream of playing for the Saints at the highest level.

CEO Matt Finnis said Angelica was representative of thousands of young female footballers in the bayside who would embrace a St Kilda team and have something more to strive towards.

“Reading the comments people have left on the #TeamAngelica petition has been incredibly uplifting and powerful – it’s genuinely important to people that we give bayside and St Kilda supporting females this opportunity to live out their dream and send the message that they can do anything,” he said.

“The bayside is the engine room of women’s footy and it is growing fast. One in six females playing footy and one in four females playing ‘club’ footy in Greater Melbourne do so in the bayside. Bayside is also home to two of the seven Premier Division teams in the Victorian Women’s Football League - it will be crucial to future the success of the NWL and St Kilda is the club of the bayside.

“What the #TeamAngelica campaign has shown is that local female players - and fans in general - want and truly deserve a bayside team and St Kilda is totally committed to making that happen.”

Channel 7 News meteorologist and weather presenter, Jane Bunn shows her support for St Kilda's NWL bid.

Finnis said the St Kilda NWL submission – which was overseen by assistant coach Peta Searle - was focused around the club’s big belief that women can do anything. It also placed a major focus on improving player pathways, creating a bayside football hub and genuinely embracing and integrating the new team and players.

“Our submission featured a four-stage player pathway plan including placing a far greater focus on getting girls aged as young as five into the game so we create a critical mass and remove the gaps in playing age groups,” he said.

“We have proposed a bayside football hub made up of Moorabbin, Seaford, the Peanut Farm in St Kilda and Trevor Barker Oval which will provide appropriate playing, training and development facilities to grow women’s football.

“Our model also involves a true integration with the men’s team including some shared coaching positions, personal development programs and everyone in the department will, ultimately, be reporting into the GM of Football, Jamie Cox.”

Finnis urged all bayside residents and St Kilda fans to get behind the #TeamAngelica campaign.

Fill out my online form.