Australian football superstar, Lydia Williams has shared the great news of the birth of her first child! The Matildas star is notoriously private about her personal life and family, but has shared the happy news on her social media.
“Welcome to the world Coen Ronald Anne Williams,” the former Matildas goalkeeper captioned her Instagram post.
According to the parenting experts over at Bounty, Coen/Koen is a popular name with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It is a Hebrew word for priest and also means ‘thunder’ in some Indigenous Australian languages.
Her Matildas teammates were quick to share their congratulations on her newcomer:
“Baby Coen, the best mumma’s” said footballer, Mary Fowler.
Mackenzie Arnold also wrote: “So cute Lyds. Congrats to you both!!!!”
Teagan Micah, Katrina Gorry, Emily Egmond, Sam Kerr and many more teammates and other soccer players around the world got involved with celebrating the fantastic news.
Lydia first shared the news of her pregnancy with a super sweet post in August 2025. In the image, her dog Caviar is holding up a sonogram of Coen. She captioned it, “Caviar has some news. Human sibling coming soon.”
Lydia retired from football in 2024. In her last match with the Matildas, fellow Indigenous Australian and sporting legend, Evonne Goolagong Cawley presented her with a booka or buka, a cloak that is traditionally made of kangaroo or possum skin. It’s a symbol of the continuity of Indigenous cultures and is a closed practice for women. Lydia’s was created by artist Lea Taylor who worked closely with Lydia’s mother. It is made of four kangaroos and included imagery evoking her life and career.
Noongar, Wongi and Yamatji man, Ken Wyatt famously wore one when delivering his first speech to parliament in 201 and in his House of Representatives official portrait.
In her career, Lydia represented Australia in 107 matches, five World Cups, six Asian Cups, and two Olympic Games.
On 13 December, the 37-year-old footballer led a First Nations football event, a first for Melbourne Victory, which was also a career retrospective on the former Matildas’ player’s career.
