Aussie Gunner fired up for clash
Caitlin Foord played more than 100 games in the ALeague – now the Arsenal star and Matildas stalwart is returning home to take on the league’s best in a world first women’s exhibition match.
Foord, 29, made her A-Leagues’ debut with Sydney FC in 2010. The Matildas winger says it launched her career and was what booked her a ticket to the 2011 World Cup.
Now she is a household name, on the cusp of her third Olympics and playing for one of the world’s biggest football clubs.
She hopes the first-time exhibition match between Arsenal FC and the A-Leagues’ Women’s All Stars team will prove to other aspiring women’s players that it’s a possibility.
“You never think you’re going to play for your club over here in Australia,” Foord said.
“It’s really exciting to be able to do that and showcase that.”
England’s Women’s Super League is leaps ahead of the ALeagues in terms of professionalism.
WSL players have full-time contracts and are paid enough to allow them to focus 100 per cent of their time and effort on football.
A-Leagues’ women’s players are on nine-month contracts and many of them still have to juggle part time jobs on top of their football to pay their bills.
“We know that there is a still a long way for it to go and get to a place that we want it to get to,” Foord said.
“I think us coming out there and hopefully putting on a good game will showcase that. “It’s massive.
“You wouldn’t have thought six months ago that this was going to happen for us.
“It shows how fast the game is growing and how quickly it is changing.”