Reyzl Zylberman remembers being the only girl playing football in the schoolyard with the boys.
As a young Jewish girl in Melbourne, there simply wasn’t the opportunity for her to play football for a club, yet she knew many boys who played for the local Jewish club, AJAX FC.
In the fallout from the Second World War, many European Jews settled in the bayside area of Melbourne, particularly St Kilda.
The name ‘St Kilda’ came to signify a place of possibilities for these people, and also became the suburb in which they built their new lives, joining local Jewish organisations and speaking Yiddish on the streets.
Reyzl was recognised as the 2017 Multicultural Ambassador of the Year for her work in establishing and coordinating the Jewish Schools Cup, which last year saw six squads of girls’ and boy’s teams representing five Jewish Melbourne schools participate in the tournament.
Read the article by Michael Ryan on the St.Kilda Football Club website.