Representing your country on the world stage is the culmination of years of hard work and immense sacrifice, not only for the player but for their family as well.
To be able to do so alongside your sister? For Jynaya and Indiana Dos Santos, both selected in Leah Blayney’s squad to represent Australia at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup 2024™ in Colombia, it is “special.”
“It’s something we’ve always dreamt of,” younger sister Indiana expressed.
The two sisters have played football together for almost their entire lives. It started at the primary school level, before coming through the ranks at Football NSW Institute and plying their trade at the club level for Sydney FC and winning the Championship double alongside one another.
“We’ve been in the same team for a long time now,” Jynaya recalled. “It’s always been Jynaya and Indi on the same team – starting from futsal, then primary school, then high school, and we played together as well.”
Their love of football undoubtedly both started in the home. Sisters Imogen and Kyani both play at a high level, and their parents Melissa and Mark had their hands full ferrying around the football-mad girls growing up.
“Literally everything we do is about football,” Indiana explained. “Either watching it, playing it, supporting – we’re always doing something that’s football-related.”
“They love watching us,” Jynaya added. “It doesn’t matter if we’re playing for club or our national team, either or, they just love watching it and they love supporting us. The love for the game bonds us all together.”
The two didn’t miss an opportunity to joke at the other’s expense throughout the discussion. They agreed that they ranked each other “mid” as a sibling – there are two others to choose from, after all – and Jynaya was quick to label her little sister “annoying.”
But when asked about their pride in each other, the genuine bond of the sisters shone through.
“I’m proud of everything that Indi has achieved,” Jynaya reflected. “From a young age, she’s just established herself. I knew she would get this opportunity because she worked so hard.
“Just to see her rise over the past few years, it’s been crazy. Especially to see her score her first A-League goal [as a 15-year-old in the 2022/23 season], that was a pretty special moment for me as a big sister watching because you see all the behind-the-scenes stuff.
“Seeing a smile on her face meant the world.”
The sisters agreed that they kept each other grounded, and motivated each other when they were having days were getting to training was a challenge.
“She’s a very strong person,” Indiana said of Jynaya. “She’s had lots of ups and downs and she’s kept strong the whole way. That’s something that’s really special.
“She works hard all the time, never takes a step down, and always wants to improve – which I love, because I want to improve with her. It makes it easier for me.”
While Indiana was having success bursting onto the scene for Sydney FC last season, it has been a more challenging road for 18-year-old Jynaya. She has struggled with injuries and has had to fight over recent seasons to earn minutes for club and country.
However, that hard work that her younger sister so admires has held her in good stead as she prepares for her second FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup™.
“Back then I was a young, 16-year-old kid,” Jynaya reflected.
“It was crazy to get that exposure and that experience, playing at that level with all those amazing girls. I think I’ve definitely grown as a footballer and as a person, gotten more confident on the pitch and off the pitch as well.”
When the chips were down, it was her family who were there to help lift her back up.
“My family is the most important thing that’s helped me,” she continued, “because whenever you have those setbacks, they’re always there to support you and tell you that everything will be okay, which is really important to me.
“It’s helped me along on my journey, especially always having my sister. She’s always there to support me.”
For Indiana’s part, she admits that she hasn’t entirely gotten her head around her early career success. To become an important part of Sydney FC’s championship squads at 15 and 16 is a remarkable achievement.
Whenever she feels like she’s getting ahead of herself, she has her family – her parents and her sisters – to remind her to stay in the moment.
“You want to achieve bigger and better,” she explained.
“But you’ve got to think, everything happens for a reason. You can’t get too far ahead of yourself. Otherwise, you’ve got to keep humble and keep working hard. Mum and Dad always tell us, to stay humble.”
The family live in Wollongong, meaning that trips up the freeway to support their children’s dreams are a regular occurrence for Melissa and Mark Dos Santos. It is an immense time sacrifice and a lot of commitment to make it work.
Both Indiana and Jynaya are keenly aware of the sacrifice and are proud of being able to repay that by representing Australia at a World Cup.
“They’ve made so many sacrifices, they’ve sacrificed so much for us pretty much their whole lives, just for us to be here right now and for our sisters to be playing soccer,” Indiana said.
“Our parents do so much for us and for them to have a smile on their faces and be proud, it makes us really proud.”
“When you think about what they’ve done for us – as a kid, you didn’t really understand, but now, oh my god, I understand so much,” Jynaya added.
“It’s what Indi said. They’ve sacrificed their entire lives for us, and they don’t show it. They don’t show that they’re stressed. They just do it because they love us so much.
“We want to make it because we’re not just playing for ourselves, we’re playing for our family, just to show them that we love them. We can do it, and we do it for them.”
MATCH SCHEDULE | FIFA U-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP COLOMBIA 2024™
Colombia v Australia
Date: Saturday, 31 August 2024 / Sunday, 1 September 2024 (AUS)
Time: 6.00pm (local) / 9.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia
Mexico v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 3 September 2024 / Wednesday, 4 September 2024 (AUS)
Time: 5.00pm (local) / 8.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia
Australia v Cameroon
Date: Friday, 6 September 2024 / Saturday, 7 September 2024 (AUS)
Time: 5.00pm (local) / 8.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia
