Friday October 18 at
8.30pm
The next installment of ESPN’s award-winning feature
series AUSSIES ABROAD focuses on the journeys of four of
Australia’s Matildas – KYAH SIMON, SAMANTHA KERR, LISA DE VANNA and CAITLIN
FOORD – all of whom played in the inaugural 2013 season of the National Women’s
Soccer League (NWSL) in the US.
ESPN AUSSIES ABROAD host Jason Bennett spent time with
all four Matildas in Boston and New Jersey during the NWSL season and explored
their unique footballing paths, all of which are completely different but led
them to the very same point.
KYAH SIMON grew up in a Rugby League family
and began playing soccer with her next door neighbour at the local boys’ club,
Quakers Hill. She rose through the ranks to make her debut for the Matildas at
16 and become one of the most potent goal scorers in international football,
including scoring the winning penalty kick to seal Australia’s 2010 Asian Cup
win. She spent the 2013 season playing with the Boston Breakers in the NWSL.
LISA DE VANNA is the only
member of our quartet for whom soccer was her first love. She slept with her
soccer ball and spent every waking moment playing in the street with her
brother and neighbours. She grew to become one of Australia’s most successful
female footballers, forging a professional career at clubs in Australia, Europe
and the United States. She has also been a Matildas mainstay for the last
decade, playing a starring role in big tournaments such as the World Cup and
Olympics. She spent the 2013 season with Sky Blue FC in New Jersey.
SAMANTHA KERR grew up in an
Australian Rules family, with her father Roger and brother Daniel both having
stellar careers. Sam wanted to follow in their footsteps and only took up
soccer late, once footy with the boys started to get a little rough. She took
to soccer like a natural and rocketed through the junior levels to make her
Matildas debut at just 15 years of age. She played club football with Western
New York Flash in 2013.
CAITLIN FOORD is the youngest
of the quartet and also started her athletic career playing sports other than
soccer before taking to the round-ball game with apparent ease. A gifted
runner, she too flew through the junior ranks to make her international debut
for the Matildas at a tender age, becoming the youngest Australian to ever play
at a World Cup when she named ‘Best Young Player’ at the 2011 World Cup as a 16
year-old. She spent the 2013 NWSL season at Sky Blue FC.
This AUSSIES ABROAD special details
the ups and downs of life as a professional footballer, exploring the history
of Kyah, Lisa, Sam and Caitlin, with first-hand accounts of famous moments such
as the 2007 & 2011 World Cups and the 2010 Asian Cup from the players who
were there in the middle of the action.
Each player talks candidly about their own personal
journey –
· Lisa opens up about the death of her father on the eve of the 2007 World
Cup and the mixed emotions she had upon her return to Australia as a hero after
starring at the tournament.
· Sam talks about soccer being her second love and the burnout that came
from achieving so much so soon. She wanted to be a normal teenager and
considered walking away from the game, despite being a rising Matildas star,
before a serious knee injury made her realize just how much the game means to
her.
It is an all-too-rare insight into the unique
challenges of life as a professional female footballer, juggling
semi-professional wages with professional time commitments.
All four girls speak optimistically about the future
of women’s football, having thoroughly enjoyed their US club experience, as
they continue to build their experience and hone their skills playing and
training with and against some of the world’s premier female footballers week
after week.
The Matildas haven’t received the mainstream media
attention their performances have warranted, but rather than being resentful,
the girls accept past realities and remain motivated to change them in the
future.
This one-hour special gives them a platform to tell
their stories in their own words and provides a rare insight into the world of
women’s professional football.
ESPN’s AUSSIES ABROAD: THE MATILDAS premieres on ESPN this FRIDAY
OCTOBER 18 at 8.30pm AEDT
