Adelaide United W-League recruits Mary and Ciara Fowler joined in SA by three siblings on latest leg of family football adventure
Adelaide United’s globetrotting Fowler sisters hope a family summer in SA can steer the Reds to W-League history, while helping their other siblings reach new heights in the game.
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From Dublin to Cairns and Rotterdam to Wollongong, it’s a family football adventure like few others.
Now Adelaide United sisters Mary and Ciara Fowler are focused on making their mark at their latest destination, while pushing their equally ambitious siblings to new heights.
The globetrotting talents were last week unveiled as the Reds’ first W-League off-season signings.
But four-cap Matildas forward Mary and Australian under-20 hopeful Ciara were unlikely to want for a support network during their first visit to SA.
They will, as usual, be joined on the journey by brothers Quivi, 20, and Seamus, 14, and sister Louise, 15, who each have similar hopes of reaching the game’s highest ranks.
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“It’s amazing to have your sister in your team and to be able to share our first W-League experience is special,” Ciara, 18, said.
“We’ve always travelled with our family and we both play better when we have that family support.
“We’re all very competitive and that’s what’s brought the aggressiveness out in all of us.
“But we also want to help each other get better. That’s what we’ve always been about.”
The Fowler’s bond had fostered friendly rivalries in a close-knit environment and reaped rich rewards in recent times.
Mary, 16, became Australia’s fifth youngest senior international when she debuted against Brazil last year, before travelling to France as a member of the Matildas’ World Cup squad.
Irish-born midfielder Ciara had represented her homeland at under-17 and under-19 level, but had since committed her allegiance to Australia.
Quivi spent last season on the books of then English Premier League outfit Cardiff City and would return to Europe to trial with a series of clubs next month.
The family’s success had been documented on an Instagram page called The Fowler 5, which highlighted their intense training regimen and sublime individual skills.
“Usually you have to wait for team training to get that competitiveness,” said four-cap Matilda Mary, who had set her sights on the W-League Golden Boot.
“But we always have races in sprints and play little games against each other.
“It’s not like ‘I’m better than you’, it’s more ‘I can help you get to this’.
“Adelaide seemed like a good kind of fit for me and the whole family.
“We’ve done it so many times, packing up and going somewhere new.
“But I find it really exciting, meeting new people and making new memories.”
Mary and Ciara demonstrated their on-field chemistry, teaming up at NSW top-flight side Bankstown City this past winter.
It came after the duo spent 2014-17 playing in boy’s sides across the Netherlands, while Quivi progressed through the youth ranks of Eredivisie Vitesse Arnhem.
“Being in a country where the footballing culture is so strong was really important for our development,” said Mary, who was born in north Queensland and later played with Illawarra Stingrays.
“Also playing with the boys was an extra experience, that not many people get.
“I find it easy to play with Ciara, because she can see and knows when I’m making the runs so I can expect the ball to come.
“Ciara is generally the assister and I’m the finisher.”
United came within one point of a maiden W-League finals berth last summer.
The Fowlers, who were accompanied by dad Kevin and mum Nido in SA, were focused on going one better this campaign.
“We want to help make history for the club,” Ciara said.
“We’ll have these memories for the rest of our lives and be able to tell them to our kids.”