Connie Selby (née Byrnes)

PLAYER, COACH, CAPTAIN OF THE MATILDAS

In 1978 Connie had captained the Matildas at the World Women’s Invitational Tournament in Taipei (Taiwan). She was awarded ‘Miss Football’ for Australia. In an interview with the World Game SBS, she recalls “We just played the game and had fun but looking back we were part of something huge and fantastic.”  Her partner Jim Selby had coached the national side.

Connie lived in Bundaberg during the 1980s. During this time she played for Queensland (1981-82) and for the National team (1983). 

Connie’s passion for football then took her to the NSW Institute of Sport and its Queensland and ACT equivalents. She then graduated to head women’s football for Oceania before becoming an instructor at FIFA. Connie went on to coach the UAE’s women’s national team.