The Joeys, the Junior Matildas, the Young Matildas: Australia's junior national teams explained

Your kid mentions the Junior Matildas or the Joeys. The names come up on the news during Asian Cup season and disappear in between. Here is what each one actually is. Australia runs four main junior national football teams: the Joeys (U17 boys), the Young Socceroos (U20 boys), the Junior Matildas (U17 girls), and the Young Matildas (U20 girls). Above them sit the Olyroos (U23 men's, the Olympic team) and the women's U23 squad. Below them sit the Australia U18 boys squad, which sits between the Joeys and the Young Socceroos and plays exhibition tournaments like the UEFA Friendship Cup. Australia also runs separate national teams for athletes with disabilities: the Pararoos and the ParaMatildas. The pathway to any of these teams runs through state body programs, A-League youth squads, and the annual CommBank Emerging Championships carnivals. The route is narrow. Queensland's own figures suggest roughly 1 percent of state academy players eventually reach national team representation. Here is what each team is and how a player actually gets noticed.