Olympics 2020: Mary Fowler, family behind Matildas’ rise to Games
This is the committed team behind Mary Fowler’s rise to the Olympic Games and, finally, her first “A” international senior cap which now ties her to Australia’s national football team.
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THIS is the team behind Mary Fowler’s rise to the Olympic Games and, finally, her first “A” international senior cap which now ties her to Australia’s national football team.
Fowler was brought on to the pitch in the final 15 minutes of Australia’s Olympic campaign opening win against New Zealand on Wednesday night.
She didn’t get too many opportunities with the ball – though she unleashed a long-range effort that was blocked shortly after it left the boot. Fowler put in a big defensive effort to suffocate New Zealand’s last throw of the dice in added time, the striker dashing back to left back to bring the Football Ferns’ last-ditch play for an equaliser to a halt.
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In Cairns, five members of her family – dad Kevin, mum Nido, and siblings Ciara, Louise and Seamus – watched every second of her first minutes in Olympic competition, while in France, brother Caoimhin Fowler, better known as Quivi, was also glued to the screen.
“It’s amazing, she’s always wanted to go to the Olympics, it’s been a dream of hers,” Ciara said.
“For her to actually get there and accomplish that, it’s so great. All that hard work has paid off. I’m really happy for her.”
The Fowlers spent much of their childhood in Cairns, kicking countless footballs together and learning the basic fundamentals of the game at Trinity Beach.
“We started really young with my older brother Quivi, he started first, and we just wanted to do what he was doing,” Ciara said.
“There were always balls in the house, we were always kicking balls, it was just fun for us.
“We felt this passion to want to be better and play more and push each other to be better players and that kind of stuff. We always enjoyed it.”
They had a short stint at Saints before moving to Leichhardt, and it was at the White Rock club they made their club football home.
Seamus still plays for the Lions, while Ciara and Louise both moved from Leichhardt to Edge Hill United this season.
Quivi also made a cameo for the Lions in 2019.
And now, finally, Mary Fowler is officially linked to Australia.
She’s made several appearances for the senior side since her debut against Brazil at the 2018 Tournament of Nations, and was part of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad but didn’t get any playing time.
And that journey started here.
“We all started with Dad and our brother, who coached us from a young age,” said Seamus, who has scored nine goals in the FNQ Premier League as one of the Lions’ key weapons upfront.
“They brought soccer up with us, especially my brother (Quivi).
“We knew she’d get there some day, it happened against New Zealand, but a lot of hard work has been put in over the years. It’s just the start of another longer journey.”
Louise, 17, described her older sister as inspirational, as she watched Mary’s years of hard work, from the beaches of Far North Queensland to French Ligue 1 club Montpellier, and now, on the Olympic stage.
“I remember she’d always talk about it when we were younger, she always wanted to go to the Olympics, so seeing her actually do it is a really proud moment,” Louise said.
“She always put in a lot of hard work, commitment, she was always motivated. She’s inspiring that way, always working hard, training together, she’s really inspiring, especially for me.”
Australia will play Sweden in their second group game on Saturday from 6.30pm. Sweden smashed the world champion USA 3-0 in its first group game.
Originally published as Olympics 2020: Mary Fowler, family behind Matildas’ rise to Games
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