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ootball Australia has announced an extension of its partnership with Pantene, with the haircare brand set to continue its sponsorship of the Matildas until at least September 2022.

As part of the partnership, Pantene will continue its Ribbon of Strength campaign with the hopes of removing barriers and breaking stereotypes in sport to retain teen girls in sport.

The campaign aims to reduce the figure of 57% of women stopping their participation in sport by the age of 24.

Pantene brand director, Stephanie Doyle, said Pantene will continue to focus on inspiring young women to continue to play sport and remain active with the help of the Matildas.

“We’re so pleased to be continuing our partnership with Football Australia,” Doyle said.

“We know that great hair can kick start a great day, whether you’re on the field or in the boardroom.

“We look forward to working with Football Australia to support this world class team and the talented and incredibly driven women who inspire not only the next generation of players, but the entire Australian population,” she said.

Football Australia CEO, James Johnson, said: “Football Australia and Pantene have shared values when it comes to the empowerment and advancement of women in Australia, so it is tremendous that we can work with a global company in Procter & Gamble to advance the growth of women’s football and inspire the next generation of players.”

“We are focused on anchoring the continued growth of the game in Australia to women’s football.

“As Australia’s leading and most popular women’s sporting team, the Matildas are uniquely positioned to inspire girls and women to take up or continue playing the sport throughout their childhood, teens, twenties, and into later life, and Pantene are such a wonderful partner to have alongside the team,” Johnson said.

Elsewhere in football, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has announced DonateLife will become an official partner of both the A-League and W-League, in partnership with the Organ and Tissue Authority.

The partnership hopes to spread messages on organ and tissue donation and support the current 1,800 Australians awaiting a transplant with events during games and a range of online activations.

APL managing director, Danny Townsend, said: “The gift of life is as precious a thing to bestow as it is possible to imagine, and it is an honour for us to help spread this vital message.”

“Our audience is as diverse as any sport in the country but in particular, so many young adults play football, and that demographic is under-represented on the national donor register.

“Our clubs and our players can help to spark that conversation among our supporters about the importance of becoming a registered donor.

“The football community is extraordinarily powerful and to have it unite behind a campaign like DonateLife can make a huge difference,” Townsend said.