Haneen Zrieka is an 18-year-old from Sydney who loved playing rugby league with her brothers, but like many other girls, was forced to quit at 13.
Luckily, Haneen had a teacher who believed in her and encouraged her to pursue her dream: playing AFL.
Now, she’s a proud team member of the Auburn Giants in Sydney and has been selected to participate in the very first NAB AFL Women’s Academy in 2017.
“Being [from] a Lebanese multicultural background, it’s really hard for any girls to do sport because parents don’t really allow women to do sport,” Haneen said.
“If I could do one thing, it’s paying it forward to young girls who are Lebanese. To show them that I had someone there for me [and], if they want, I’ll be there for them to show them you can actually be an elite. You can actually play AFL. You can do what you want to do.”
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Haneen’s love for footy is undeniable, as is the passion of all budding sport stars around the country.
And those up-and-coming sporting guns are exactly who we want to find.
Along with the AFL Women’s, Mamamia is proudly introducing Sport. My Way – a four-part video series that celebrates young women and girls who are doing amazing things in sport, just like Haneen.
If you know a girl aged 5 – 16 who is excelling in her chosen sport, send in a short video of them for a chance to be profiled on the Mamamia website and AFLW social channels.
Your video should be under 1 x min in length, have the sports star introduce themselves, showcase their talent and tell us why they love playing sport.
Stand-out talent will be selected for appearance in the AFLW & Mamamia Sport. My Way video series. Simply upload your video to YouTube and send the link to
Good luck!
You can watch Haneen in action during this Friday night’s NAB AFL Women’s U18 Champs match when NSW/ACT take on QLD.
The game will kick off at 6:30pm AEDT at Blacktown International Sportspark, Sydney. You can also stream the game live here.