FEMALE HISTORY IN THE MAKING AT CAULFIELD PARK!

Maccabi FC Celebrates Inaugural All-Female Senior Football Derby in True Carnival Style

What more can we say than WOW! 

On a historic afternoon that will be talked about for years to come, Maccabi FC celebrated our first-ever all-female senior football derby in magnificent style—bringing total, unadulterated carnival energy to our home ground!

The grounds were absolutely buzzing from the first whistle to the last as dozens upon dozens of passionate supporters, families, and community members packed into Caulfield Park. Side by side, they created a sea of club colors to watch the mighty Wild Bees take on the brilliant Queen Bees for the ultimate local bragging rights. Frankly, we have never seen a crowd that massive, loud, or vibrant at the Park before!

President of Maccabi FC Caulfield, Ari Singer, was blown away and remarked, "What an incredible weekend. The Maccabi Derby was one of those days that reminded us what community sport is really about. To have more than 500 people at Caulfield Park, with kids, families, sponsors and supporters all coming together to celebrate two Maccabi women’s teams playing each other, was incredibly special"

VIP Guests and Community Spirit 🌟

The historic nature of the day drew some incredible support from across the community. We were absolutely thrilled to welcome our State Member of Parliament, David Southwick MP, who came down to join in the festivities. Showing his true dedication to our club, David traveled all the way from a conference in Bendigo just to be there with us for this momentous occasion!

Adding to the beautiful atmosphere of community and kindness, the wonderful team from Milla’s Mitzvahs for Friendship Circle were also in attendance. They spent the day spreading their signature good deeds, warmth, and positivity around the grounds, perfectly embodying the inclusive spirit of Maccabi FC.

Singer added, "Community is our superpower. It is what drives this club, and it was on full display on Sunday. We are so grateful to our partners, including Ace InfoTech, Community Bank Caulfield Park, Mama Falafel and Maccabi Victoria, who helped us put on a free event that brought so much joy to everyone attending and family and friends streaming online."

A Festival Around the Grounds 🎉

To match the action on the pitch, Caulfield Park was transformed into a festival of fun for fans of all ages. Small-sided football pitches popped up across the park, keeping the next generation of club stars active and showing off their skills.

The air was filled with the mouth-watering aromas of Mama Falafel serving up delicious eats at the main kiosk, while lines formed for refreshing snow cones to keep everyone cool under the pressure. Thanks to our friends at Inflatable Fun Park, a massive jumping castle and a high-energy football obstacle course kept the energy soaring. Meanwhile, competitive spirits were put to the test at the Football Target Challenge, where sharp-shooters had the chance to take home up to $200 in cash prizes, courtesy of our generous sponsors at the Caulfield Park Community Bank.

Live Streaming Around the World

And in another first for the club, this was the first ever match that has been live streamed to a global audience through our club's Facebook page.

In fact we had viewers from Israel and New Zealand glued to their screens.

Honoring a Beautiful Spirit: The Matilda Britvan Medal ❤️

Just as importantly—if not more so—our club community was deeply moved and profoundly honored to welcome Matilda Britvan’s family, who traveled all the way from Sydney to stand with us for this milestone. Michael, Valentyna, and Summer joined us to establish a legacy that means the world to our club.

While Matilda wasn’t physically with us on the day, her beautiful spirit, warmth, and enduring love for life wrapped around Caulfield Park and lived vividly in everyone’s hearts.

In a deeply touching moment, the inaugural Matilda Britvan Medal for Player of the Match was presented by Matilda’s delightful younger sister, Summer Britvan.

The historic, very first recipient of the medal was the amazing Lani Kahn of the Wild Bees! Lani put on an absolute masterclass on the pitch, proving to everyone in attendance that she just keeps getting better with age. A massive congratulations, Lani!

So, Who Took Home the Bragging Rights? 🏆

The match itself lived up to every ounce of the pre-game hype. In an absolute down-to-the-wire thriller, both teams left everything they had on the pitch, demonstrating incredible skill, grit, and mutual respect.

When the final whistle blew, it was the Wild Bees who edged out the Queen Bees in a spectacular 1–0 victory! With Tami Halac as the historic goal scorer.

The atmosphere in the Hive will truly never be the same again... at least until the next derby rolls around!

After the game President Singer observed, "Seeing the Wild Bees get the win was fantastic, but the most powerful moment of the day was having Matilda Britvan’s family with us, and seeing her little sister Summer present the Matilda Britvan Medal to such a deserving winner in Lani Kahn. It was heartwarming and full of pride.

Days like this show the resilience, joy and strength of our community. We come together, we support each other, and we remind ourselves that our light will always shine through the darkness."

Thank You to Our Team Behind the Team 🙌

An event of this magnitude does not happen by accident. A monumental, heartfelt thank you goes out to the incredible Maccabi FC organizing committee—Ari, Tali, and Jenna—as well as our hard-working on-field staff, coaches, and volunteers. Your tireless efforts behind the scenes turned a visionary concept into a beautifully polished, historic celebration for women's sport and our club community.

📸 A massive, heartfelt thank you to Jarrod Freedman Photography for capturing the magic of the day so beautifully. https://www.jarrodfreedmanphotography.com/collection

To everyone who came out, cheered, ate, played, and shared in the joy: thank you for making us proud to be part of the Maccabi family.

Go Maccabi! Bring on the next derby! ⚽💛💙