Lydia Williams’ late father could play the gum leaf. This is not really relevant to her Matildas career, but it also is in a roundabout way.
Pastor (uncle) Ron Williams, one of Australia’s most respected Aboriginal elders, did not live to see the daughter he and her mother raised on the red dirt of Kalgoorlie play football for her country. But he did get to watch her as a young teenager representing Canberra Eclipse in the now-defunct Women’s National Soccer League. And he did rally the other parents into a touchline chant during an away trip to Coffs Harbour.
“Dad loved being creative,” Williams says. “He could play the gum leaf, and he loved singing songs and telling me stories. He loved making banners and anything on canvas. He made this canvas that he drove to Coffs …
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