Kijah Stephenson signs contract with Brisbane Roar

New Brisbane Roar winger Kijah Stephenson has made a heartbreaking tribute to the man she says got her where she is today, before he died far too young.

When Bundaberg soccer talent Kijah Stephenson was finally allowed to join a team with her older brothers at the age of five, she could never have known it would take her all the way to the A-League.

But that is exactly what has happened, with the former Diggers U6 player signed up to run on for the Roar in 2023.

“I started off in Bundaberg playing for the Diggers from under sixes through to the under 11s; I then changed clubs to the Brothers,” Stephenson said on Tuesday.

By age 16 she was playing with the National Premier League for the Sunshine Coast Fire, the closest NPL team to Bundaberg.

“My mum would drive me to the Sunshine Coast two times a week for training, and then to the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane for a game on the weekend,” she said.

Her talent was clear, and she was quickly scouted for the Queensland Academy of Sport, playing for the Queensland Regional State Team and competing in the National Youth Championships in 2017.

Kijah Stephenson (front left) had the support of her parents throughout her childhood, with her mother Paula (back left) as the club manager and father Anthony (back right) her coach.

Now, at the age of 20, Stephenson has signed a one-year contract with the Brisbane Roar and will make her professional debut as a winger in 2023.

As impressive as her career has been, she credits her success to her dad Anthony, who died of lung cancer in October 2021, at the age of 45.

“My dad was my coach from under sixes through to under 11s,” she said. “He was always my biggest fan and talked about how one day it would be me playing on the telly.”

Growing up, Stephenson spent all her time at the soccer fields, keenly watching her brothers play and her father coach.

Kijah Stephenson played for Brisbane City as part of her journey to the A-League.

“Finally when I turned five I was allowed to play,” she said.

It was her father who got her on her first team, and encouraged her to play with the boys.

“He taught me everything that I know. He never forced me to train, he always made it fun and let me get involved with my brothers playing.”

Now she is looking to do her father’s memory proud and is excited to meet the challenge of a professional playing career.

“I am looking forward to the intensity, the training, travelling and basically football will be my life,” she said. “I am looking forward to doing it every day.”