Caitlin Foord: We want to do something special in this jersey
Caitlin Foord always seemed destined to achieve big things with the CommBank Matildas.
At 13, she was already playing with the U17 National Team. She scored her first A-League Women’s goal nine days after her 16th birthday. A goal on her CommBank Matildas debut, less than six months later, followed.
Who can forget a baby-faced Foord going toe-to-toe with the Brazilian superstar Marta at the peak of her powers in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup? She was awarded the Best Young Player award at that World Cup, and subsequently AFC Youth Player of the Year for 2011. All of this, was achieved before she was even eligible to drive a car.
“It’s crazy to think that I’ve been in this squad for 11 years now,” Foord smiled. “I feel like time has just flown by.”
In the last six months, Foord has truly hit her stride. The stats speak for themselves – five goals across the last two international windows, five assists and a goal in the FA WSL, and three goals in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
With such stunning form, it’s easy to forget that when signing for Arsenal in 2020, she was no walk-up starter.
“At the start of my career, it all came very easy, quickly and naturally. Everything just kind of fell into place,” she explained. “A couple of years down the track I did hit a bit of a challenge.”
“At Portland [her previous club] I didn’t play as much, I wasn’t a starter, and that feeling – I didn’t really know how to deal with when it happened.
“I was just going through the motions and expected everything to fall into place because that’s how it had always been. It doesn’t come as easy as that, especially when you’re playing at a club like Arsenal, with the players you’re surrounded by.”
She admitted that she was forced to go through a period of rediscovering her love for the game. She found it, amidst the challenges of playing for her spot in a team that consists of some of the best players in the world.
“I think it’s what pushed me in my football, to want to be better,” she continued.
“There’s not a game that I go into that I don’t know it’s an opportunity to keep my spot - and potentially to lose it. Week in, week out, you have to be playing at your best.”
She’s now in a place where she’s enjoying her football, playing regularly, and things seem to be coming off for her – both in clubland, and internationally.
“At the moment it's all about being me and playing the football that I know I can,” she said.
“I’m feeling good and the things I want to be doing, are coming off. I’m doing exactly what I want to do, so I want to keep building on that, keep feeling like that, and staying in that rhythm.”
In the course of her career so far, Foord has witnessed first-hand many of the immense changes in the women’s game. It was not so long ago that many of her teammates were essentially amateur – now, she is playing in front of crowds that are growing every week, including the 47,367 that witnessed Arsenal defeat Tottenham 4-0 in the North London Derby in September this year.
“It is really exciting,” she exclaimed.
“This is the benchmark now, and it can only get better. Obviously, we love it – it makes me excited for the World Cup, and to keep building on everything that’s happening now.”
Not only has the game grown, but she has as well.
“I’ve transitioned from a little rascal of a kid, to now a leader, in a way,” she said.
“The transition of the game is what my career and most of the other girls’ careers have been. We’ve seen where it’s been to where it is now.
“It’s exciting for us - the opportunities we’ve had and how far we’ve come as a team.”
The 2023 World Cup represents the moment when many of those she has lined up alongside on her journey will be hitting the peak of their powers.
Heading into 2023, Foord is steadfast in her belief in herself and her teammates.
“We want to do something special in this jersey, I really feel like we deserve that,” she said.
“It makes me excited for what’s to come. We have the team to do it, and this is probably the best time."