Adelaide United midfielder Emily Condon reveals pain of chronic health condition crippling her career

A debilitating chronic health condition has crippled Adelaide United midfielder Emily Condon’s career this past 12 months, but she hasn’t given up on her dream.

Emily Condon is battling a chronic health condition while she plays in the A-League. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Pain so great she couldn’t walk, sleep or even stand – but Emily Condon is battling on, determined to help her much loved Adelaide United win their first piece of silverware.

The 25-year-old’s commitment to Adelaide’s A-Leagues’ women’s team cannot be faulted.

She was just 15-year-olds when she signed her first professional contract – not that it came with any financial benefits.

She had to wait several years for that – even then the wage didn’t even cover her petrol costs to and from training.

Now she is learning to play through an extreme amount of pain as she battles a condition doctors first told her would fade after four weeks of rest. That was more than a year ago.

The condition, osteitis pubis, causes pain almost everywhere in her body.

“At the start it was very bad,” Condon said.

“I couldn’t sleep at night, couldn’t even stand up. I couldn’t walk, it hurt to breathe, cough and sneeze.

“It was a constant ache and a sharp stabbing pain in my hips and lower back, just everything and everywhere.

“It just hurt all the time.”

Condon in action for Adelaide United. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

The first time Condon had a suspicion something wasn’t right with her body was the New Year’s Eve clash with Newcastle Jets in 2022.

“I remember coming off after the game, having only played the last 20 minutes and sitting there in agony.

“My back was aching, my hips were aching. It was just a world of pain. I had scans and the doctor said it was osteitis pubis. He said if I sat out for four weeks I’d be good to go again.

“I wasn’t quite good to go again then.”

It has been more than a year and Condon is slowly getting back to her former self.

“It’s been a long battle. I’ve tried everything and anything. But we are making progress. I’m more minutes on the field and finding my feet again, but it’s a horrible injury.”

It isn’t the first time Condon has suffered a long term injury in her career.

She missed the entire 2016/17 season after contracting rhinovirus while in China with the under-20s national team.

“I was gone for seven months, I was just sick, bedridden, I was so fatigued, it was a very scary time,” Condon said.

“I also had pneumonia at the same time so I was struggling to breath, it was just horrible. It took a long time to get back, return to play and build up my fitness.”

Condon didn’t manage her first whole season until the 2021/22 season where Adelaide finished third on the ladder and got their first taste of finals football, something she had dreamt about since she signed her first contract.

Condon grew up in Port Pirie, SA. Picture: Simon Cross

EARLY DAYS

Condon grew up in Port Pirie, approximately 230km north of Adelaide.

She took up football as a youth but was the only girl in the whole competition.

“I used to play interstate country carnivals and I’d still be the only girl or one of two or three others,” Condon said.

“I grew up playing with the boys, even played in my older brother’s club team for a few years.”

It wasn’t until she made her first state team as a teenager that Condon got a taste of playing women’s football.

It was a two-and-a-half to three hour round trip to training in Adelaide sometimes four or five times a week plus games.

Condon was offered her first professional contract when she was just 15 years old.

“The first four years in the A-League we got paid zero dollars. Our first pay cheque was in the fourth or fifth season and I remember it being only $60 a week,” she said.

“I was still living in Port Pirie, it was a five, six hour round trip back and forth to training and the game so I didn’t have the opportunity to have a second job at that time.

“The $60 didn’t really help much, especially with the petrol cost for all the travel, it didn’t even come close to covering it.”

It’s Condon’s 11th season with Adelaide. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

THE CHANGES

It took time but the A-Leagues women’s competition has improved during Condon’s 11 seasons with Adelaide United.

Such as the competition now having a full home and away season – with each team playing each other twice. And the minimum wage is now $25,000 – a great deal more than the $60 Condon was first paid but still nowhere near the average salary of $150,000 the men are paid.

While impressed with the changes to the league structure, upgraded venues and all around professionalism of the competition – Condon said there were still clear gaps.

“I know the minimum wage is so much better now but I’m sure the majority of players at the moment are doing some sort of work. Whether that is to supplement income or just something to do outside of football. But we still have a long way to go in that sense, we are definitely making moves forward though,” she said.

And while the league now boasts 22 games in a regular season, when Condon first started there were just eight plus finals.

Now in her 11th season Condon is closing in on her 100th A-League women’s game.

“It’s definitely taken a very long time to approach 100 games,” Condon said.

“I know I missed one whole season due to sickness and a couple of injuries here and there. I think it’s such a good thing now that there’s more games, and hopefully girls can start making their 100 games sooner than what I will.”

OFF THE FIELD

While most A-League’s women’s players have to juggle life as professional footballer with a second job – Condon made it slightly harder on herself, launching her own business and writing a book.

A regular job is hard to fit around training, games and travel. So Condon started her own business, doing what she knows best – football.

Through EC Advantage she offers one-on-one and small group skills based training sessions and strength and conditioning training.

She also has an online element to her business allowing her to mentor and work with aspiring players around the country and even a couple overseas.

“I went into this field because it was flexible around my playing career. It’s still hard but it does give me the flexibility to move clients around and have my own hours. I know it is a luxury not all other players have.”

Condon said it was a rewarding second job that allowed her to give back, especially to young female footballers.

“I thought it was something that was lacking when I was growing up playing and going through the ranks of club soccer, just working on the extra parts of the game like your close ball skills, the technical side, strength and conditioning as well.”

Condon’s book, which was published in 2022, is titled Don’t Kick it to the Girl.

The midfielder said the inspiration for the book was the experiences she had to go through as an aspiring female footballer. Her aim was to simply encourage other young girls to give sport a go.

“I wrote about my own journey, stories and setbacks,” Condon said. “I know I was signed at a young age but it hasn’t always been a smooth ride throughout my career and I hope sharing with others allows them to dream.”

Condon hopes the team will turn their losing streak around. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

THIS YEAR

Condon is still struggling to overcome her osteitis pubis but is able to train with the main squad and has played in six of Adelaide’s 10 matches – even scoring a goal.

She was substituted on in the 64th minute in United’s disappointing 3-1 loss to the Newcastle Jets on New Year’s Eve.

It was their sixth loss of the season.

A stat Condon is hopeful of turning around.

“It’s been rough,” she said. “The results are just not going our way and it’s our own performances that are holding us back at the moment.

“It’s not so much what the opposition are doing, it’s more what we are doing collectively as a team that’s just not quite where we want it to be at the moment.

“We’re trying to remain as positive as we can and go into every game knowing that we can win and think that’s something we need to keep focusing on and keep believing within ourselves.

“We are good enough, it’s just a matter of getting the results.”

It is going to be tough to get back in the winner’s circle this weekend, with competition leaders Melbourne City coming to town. City have lost just one game this season while Adelaide have only won two.

“They are one of the top sides at the moment, they are in form and are doing really well, so credit to them,” Condon said. “For us to get a win against them this weekend, especially being a home game would be a massive boost for us. We’ve had a couple of wins in a row but we are struggling to keep the momentum going, we need to restart and it needs to start this game.”

Condon still has ever belief Adelaide can turn their season around and get their second taste of finals football.

“When I first signed, I was only 15, but I remember saying that I want to do everything I can do get to a final,” Condon said.

“We made the finals a couple of season back but we’ve always struggled to be in that top four in the competition so it’s always been a goal of mine to get the club there and just do as well as we possibly can.”

Adelaide United will play Melbourne City at MARS Sports Centre at 5.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Originally published as Adelaide United midfielder Emily Condon reveals pain of chronic health condition crippling her career