The Illawarra Stingrays were developed through a partnership between the Illawarra Junior Soccer Association (IJSA) and the Illawarra Women’s Soccer Association (IWSA) in 2006 to promote and develop elite female football in the area.
Although the Illawarra Women's Soccer Association (IWSA) was merged to become part of Football South Coast, the Illawarra Stingrays remained independent as the recognised entity in the Illawarra to represent elite level women's football.[1]
The primary club colour of Illawarra Stingrays is pink, which represents that the club is a women's only club. The secondary club colour is sky blue, with additional contrasting colours of navy blue and white.
The Illawarra Stingray logo features a stingray and a football set over the ray's tail.
The home ground of the Illawarra Stingrays is JJ Kelly park on a sub-leasing arrangement with another club.[7] The club have been actively campaigning to be granted a home ground by their local council.[8]
The Illawarra Stingrays are a strong development team and have supported the Matildas, Junior Matildas, State Representatives and W League players, including:
Michelle Heyman – Matildas, Canberra United in the A-League Women. 2007 Leading goal-scorer for the Illawarra Stingrays in the FNSW Super League competition and club player of the year; 2009 Golden Boot in the FNSW Women's Premier League and Player of the Year; 2010 leading goal-scorer for Illawarra Stingrays.[9]
