Leena Khamis, Powerhouse of Australian Female Football

Not every Australian footballer can say they have achieved it all, but not every Australian footballer is Leena Khamis.

Football NSW League One, NPL Women’s NSW and A Leagues Championships, an overseas playing stint in Denmark, and AFC Women’s Asian Cup Championship with the Matildas.

Leena’s story is an inspirational one.

Ben Gough, head coach of Leena’s current NPL Women’s NSW team, Mt Druitt Town Rangers, said a few weeks back that, “the fire in her belly to win is unbelievable,” even now, after playing the game for over 20 years.

When asked what Leena thought of that statement by her coach, she replied, “I guess that’s something that’s been instilled in me since I started playing and has never left. It doesn’t matter which team or level I am playing at…I always want to win. I am one of six siblings, and we grew up being very competitive,” she said.

The Khamis family competition is still going strong with older sister Linda, a coach at A Leagues’ club, Western Sydney Wanderers, and younger sister Shamiran, a goalkeeper there also. Sham plays for Gladesville Ravens in NPL Women’s NSW in the A Leagues off season.

Quizzed when Leena’s obsession with football began, remarkably the footballer with the trademark headband, didn’t kick a ball competitively until she was 14 years of age. Sister Linda was playing first grade for Macarthur Rams and Leena decided to join her.

Leena’s dad, Harry, played football overseas in his youth and Leena explained she comes from a very sporting family. Growing up, she also played rugby league and cricket.

“We were into every sport but for me, football took over.”

Leena revealed that her parents have always been supportive and encouraging of her football career. Her mum, Younia, gets to games occasionally but if her dad can’t watch, Leena points out, “He always asks without fail if we won and if I scored.”

When asked if Leena ever has moments when she sits back and reflects on her success as a footballer, particularly silverware with the Matildas, Leena replied sheepishly, ”Sometimes I guess, when it’s brought up.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve had a pretty good career. I can’t complain. I’ve won a lot and done a lot. I’ve been around a long time and have had successful years in the NPL (NSW).”

Leena won The AFC Women’s Asian Cup with The Matildas in 2010, the event being held in Australia in March next year. When pressed if the accolade was still spoken of today, she said, “With older people yes. When the younger people find out they say, ‘Oh wow you played for The Matildas, you won the Asian Cup!’ It just depends on the generation.”

The story of Mt Druitt Town Rangers Women, the team in which Leena has captained over the past two seasons, is a remarkable one. The squad won the Football NSW League One Women’s Championship in 2024 and gained promotion into NPL Women’s NSW for the first time in the club’s history in 2025. The Town Rangers went undefeated for the first 12 rounds and led the table for a substantial period. It conceded the least number of goals in the league with Manly United FC, 28, and remained in the top four for the entire 26 rounds of the competition.

Mt Druitt also made the 2025 Sapphire Cup grand final in July but lost to APIA Leichhardt FC.

Leena, having played an important role in the team’s success, is still performing at an incredibly high standard, finishing the regular season on 16 goals. The equal fourth highest goal scorer in the competition.

An inspiration for aspiring footballers everywhere but especially in western Sydney, the squad’s success has encouraged youngsters to dream and know it’s possible to achieve with belief and hard work. When asked what the vibe at the club has been like from those achievements of the past two years, the striker stated, “First of all it was a massive achievement for the club. If you asked anyone (at the club) six months ago if we would be where we are now…no.

“We’ve overachieved (in our first season in NPL Women’s NSW). We have the winning mentality we created at the club last year. We knew we’d be the underdogs this year, but results and stats don’t lie. We have been in the top four all season and have made the finals. That’s credit to the players and coaching staff for the hard work that everyone has put in.

“We have a really big game this weekend, anything can happen in finals.”

When asked how Leena was feeling about the match against the NPL Women’s NSW Premiers, Bulls FC Academy, she said optimistically, “Good, I’m excited. I’ve been in finals football for the past four years and have a good history in finals. I’m just looking forward to it.

“We had a rough patch over the past few weeks, but we’ve picked up form again and we can do it. We can make the finals.”

When recapping all the achievements gained over Leena’s footballing career and which one is at the forefront for her, there was a slight pause.

“Obviously winning a trophy with The Matildas but also scoring at a World Cup. It was the 2011 one in Germany and we won 3-2…but there’s heaps (of special moments).”

Leena played in a second World Cup in Canada four years later.

Away from the football field, Leena is a firefighter. A testament to her strong character and wanting to help others. When asked what led her to that career, she explained, “A few good football friends are in the job. At the end of my Matildas and A Leagues career, I was looking for a change and a few people said I’d be good at it. I looked into it, and I love it. I like helping people and the community. It’s the best job in the world.”

When asked why that is she replied, “It just is.”

When the question of how Leena’s body holds up and if she gets sore with such a gruelling schedule, she answered, “Yes…but it’s about recovery and sleep and I’ve been doing it long enough, so I now know how to handle all that.”

For now, Leena continues to play the game she loves and still enjoys, but when asked if in the future she would remain in football with a coaching role post career, The Town Rangers’ number 19 replied, “I don’t know, we’ll see…I don’t know if I have the patience for it.

“I may not be able to walk away from it completely, but we’ll see.”

The Mt Druitt Town Rangers play 2025 NPL Women’s NSW Premiers, Bulls FC Academy this Saturday night in the first semi final, at Valentine Sports Park, 6pm.

-By Mel Muscat