The Gaining Ground WA Story
We’re a women-founded and led mental wellbeing not-for-profit that sustains women and girls in football and elevates players to become coaches and leaders at their clubs.
We build role models within clubs using Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead principles to build joy, connection, and belonging and create culture change at clubs throughout Western Australia.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a world where every woman and girl is supported and empowered to lead to her capabilities in the game and in her community.
Our Mission
We support clubs with tools and resources to build confident, emotionally-intelligent women and girls who become role models, coaches, and leaders in the game and in their communities. From generation to generation, we are creating a cycle of long-term, sustainable change.
Our Purpose
To empower women and girls to lead through football, building sustained joy, connection, and belonging on and off the pitch.
Our People
We’re women who are passionate about leadership, sport and mental wellbeing. From our homes to the classroom, yoga studio, and newsroom, we’ve experienced the need to empower young women to overcome self-doubt and build self-belief to thrive on and off the field. We’ve also experienced the transformative power of having a consistent role model in our lives.
Our Growth
2020
We first met around a club room table to share honest experiences about mental health as players and coaches and realised major mental health issues at our clubs. We weren’t mental health professionals, but we knew we needed to do more for our women and girls.
2021
We designed and facilitated a digital toolkit, Game Changers, of communication exercises for players and coaches to build mental wellbeing. We believed that if we built joy, connection, and belonging among players and teams, we could retain players, build mentors, and create female coaches. We piloted a successful program at Fremantle City Football Club with 16 teams and 180 players and empowered young women to become mentors and coaches and join leadership boards.
2022 - 2023
We evolved to Gaining Ground and incorporated as a not-for-profit to expand to clubs in Perth and Western Australia.
2024
Today we’re focused on expanding our mentorship program to sporting clubs throughout Perth to sustain participation, retain players, and contribute to a gender equitable future.
2025
We’re building organisational capacity, embedding an evaluation framework, and forming ethical, value-aligned partnerships to grow our impact.
Annual Reports
Our Impact 2023-2024: A letter from the Chair
Kris Marano
Founder | Chair | Executive Director
“I believe sport and storytelling are powerful drivers for social change, and there is no greater time to elevate women and girls everywhere in the world to lead in the game and in their lives.
Kris is a communicator and storyteller with 15 years of international experience. She interviews elite athletes and Olympians about mental health and leadership. A career highlight was directing and reporting storytelling from the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 for the Official Book. She executive produced the State Library of WA story series, Game Changers: Trailblazing Stories from West Australian Women in Soccer and gave a TEDxUWA talk in December 2023 about the power of role models for women and girls in sport.
Mariela Espino Zuppa
Program Lead and Strategist
"I want young people to trust there are community spaces where they truly belong. My role with Gaining Ground is one way of contributing towards the community I want to be a part of: equitable, caring, and joyful. I believe so much good can come from supporting young women and young people from all backgrounds to live and lead to their true potential.”
Mariela’s passion for community, inclusivity, and wellbeing come from her own lived experience as a first generation migrant. Combined with her strategic and creative spirit, she is driving Gaining Ground WA towards growing our impact and creating enriching community partnerships.
Our Team
Board of Directors
SECRETARY | BOARD DIRECTOR
Sport Development Lecturer, North Metropolitan College of TAFE
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