Sport
1 September, 2025
Mahli Willis to represent Australia in Futsal
Stawell’s Mahli Willis will proudly don the green and gold in October after being selected to represent Australia in the Australian UK Futsal Tour, the biggest tournament for the nation’s under-14 players.
Australia will face England, Scotland and Wales in a series of round-robin matches and friendlies, while also enjoying cultural experiences such as castle visits, tours of London landmarks, Premier League matches, training sessions, and visiting leading futsal clubs, including world-renowned Wrexham.
For Willis, 14-years-old, the rise to international honours has been swift. It was just only last year that she was asked to join Futsal Victoria, where she represented the state in the National Championships in New South Wales, reaching the semi-finals.
In January, she received a letter confirming her place in the Australian squad, one of two Victorians in the squad.
“I was blank for a couple of minutes as I thought it wasn’t real,” Willis recalled.
“When it sank in, it felt like I had accomplished something really big. It gave me meaning to keep going and to push harder to follow my dreams.”
Her football journey began at just five years old, starting with soccer before joining the Stawell Pioneers a year later.
Since then, Willis has become one of the club’s most decorated players, achieving premiership success, notching over fifty games, and has been a runner-up best-and-fairest and runner-up golden boot on multiple occasions.
In 2024, she claimed the under-17 golden boot, awarded to the player who kicks the most goals, and represented the victorious South West Victoria Football Association’s under-14 and under-17 teams in the Western United Cup.
Willis said she immediately felt a strong connection to soccer.
“Soccer brought me joy and helped me make so many friendships. The joy is the feeling of being free, running around and having control of what I do in my sport,” she said.
Willis only took up futsal to sharpen her soccer skills.
“I thought it would be a great way to improve my footwork,” she said.
“I only played a couple of times before I was asked to play for Victoria, and it went from there.”
Now, her dreams have shifted to the highest level in either sport, with the Matildas the ideal scenario in soccer, and should futsal come an Olympic sport, the Olympics.
“I would love to play for the Matildas one day,” Willis said.
“I look up to Kyra Cooney-Cross, who pushes herself hard, sets goals step by step, and is one of the fairest players in the world.”
Currently, Willis plays as a forward, striker or winger in soccer, and as a centre-forward in futsal.
Willis explained the difference between soccer and futsal.
“Soccer is outdoor-based, where you can’t use your hands at all, unless you are a goalkeeper, and there is the offside rule, and it’s a bigger, more open space,” Willis said.
“Futsal is played indoors on a basketball-sized field with kick-ins instead of throw-ins, and there are no offsides, and it’s a faster-paced game.”
Willis is dedicated to her craft. She trains up to 15 hours a week, travelling to Melbourne multiple times with her father, Jason, clocking up around 1800 kilometres weekly.
On Monday, she is in Melbourne working on speed and agility, gym and sprint work. Tuesday, she trains with Western United in Melbourne, working on soccer.
Thursday, she trains for Grampians United Soccer club, Friday, she has normal training, Saturday, she is back in Melbourne for Futsal training, and on Sunday, she plays under-14s and 17s for Grampians United, where she will play in the semi-finals on September 7.
She also juggles school, in which she is excelling academically.
Her sporting pedigree runs in the family. Jason was a talented footballer and cricketer, and represented Victoria in Softball, while her mother, Melinda Gray, competed in netball, football, tennis, and swimming, and represented Victoria under-18s in hockey.
Melinda said she couldn’t be prouder of her daughter’s achievements.
“She works hard and juggles everything so well. She deserves everything coming her way,” she said.
For Willis, the UK tour is not just about competition but learning and growing as an athlete.
“I’m looking forward to seeing new places, making new connections and taking the opportunity further,” she said.
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