WALLOON-based Michelle Sawyers has every reason to feel heightened excitement about this month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Sawyers, 62, was one of Australia’s soccer pioneers before the current Matildas national side forged a world-class reputation.
She was the first Ipswich player to make an Australian women’s team.
Sawyers went on to represent her country in 29 matches between 1983 and 1991 for the previous ‘Female Socceroos’ side that was renamed the Matildas in 1995.
With the latest World Cup being hosted by Australia and New Zealand starting on July 20, Sawyers has been frantically securing tickets.
Her list includes games in Brisbane featuring England, Haiti, France, Brazil, Germany and Korea.
As an Australian soccer alumnus, she also managed to access tickets to the Matildas’ opening game against Ireland in Sydney on July 20.
“It’s nice to see them [Australian teams] playing more and more games,” Sawyers said, reflecting on her past international experience.
“Before [during her era] it was just go to our nationals, we get selected in the [national] team and we were lucky to get one tour.
“The girls now get more opportunity to play higher level games.
“There’s more of them playing overseas now. They are on contracts overseas.
“That was just starting when I was retiring.”
However, Sawyers became a trail-blazing defender after she made her Australian debut on a tour to Hawaii in 1983.
While she got to play overseas, Sawyers and her team-mates had to pay their own way for many years. That began to change after the 1989 Oceanic Cup when players were retained through contracts.
Near the end of her career, Sawyers recalls some ‘base’ players having half their fees paid.
One exception was a trip to Japan in 1989 where the host country financially assisted the Aussie women.
Sawyers rated that as her favourite tour as Australia thrived on the support to win the Prima Cup tournament.
Thirteen of Sawyers’ 29 national appearances were rated “true internationals” by FIFA (the world governing body).
Among the countries she played against, or in tournaments with local teams, were New Zealand, Canada, Japan, United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
After eight matches in 10 days on the 1987 trip to Taiwan, she was named Australian player of the tour.
Sawyers was later chosen in FIFA’s Team of the 1980s and officially recognised as Australian Cap 46.
After she retired as a player following her last tour to New Zealand in 1991, Sawyers became manager of the Australian side from 1992-95.
She supported the team which toured Canada, Argentina and Russia before World Cup trials in Papua New Guinea.
She managed the newly-named Matildas squad that represented Australia at the 1995 World Cup in Sweden.
“It was very different from playing,” she said of her manager’s role.
“When you’re playing you don’t have to worry about your strips being cleaned. Everything is done for you.
“But when you are managing, you have got to make sure that all the girls have got their passports, they are keeping themselves in their rooms when they are supposed to be in their rooms.”
Sawyers’ illustrious career started and ended with the Coalstars club in Ipswich.
After making her Queensland debut aged 14, the highly respected sportswoman progressed quickly to international level.
Her father Keith Barclay was a massive influence, coaching premiership-winning Coalstars teams that played at Bundamba and Blackstone.
Michelle has lived at Walloon for more than 40 years, with her husband Steve who was a former international wrestler. They married in 1977.
“If it wasn’t being with Steve, I probably would have given up,” Michelle said.
“He was always pushing me to be fitter.”
While she had a break from the game as a mother, Michelle’s links to the Australian team remained strong.
The former Raceview State School and Bremer High student did domestic work and later worked at Woolworths while building her inspirational international soccer career.
