Getting to know emelie

Emelie has been with us for a few months now, and we thought it was about time that she 'spilled the beans' on her career as a professional football player in Sweden and why she moved to Australia. 

Why did you come to Australia? When I was five, my cousin and role model moved to Australia to study at Griffith, and the only thing I wished for my 6th birthday was to be old enough to do the same. And when I was, I went!

How did you get started in football? I got introduced to football during a summer-football camp held by SvFF (Swedish Football Association), and just fell in love with the sport!

Did you play just football growing up? Both yes and no, when I was really young I tried a bunch of sports such as gymnastics, swimming, boule, golf etc. But as soon as football started getting serious, you sort of need to choose where to put your time and effort – and football for me was the obvious choice. Although, to keep fit during the off-season, our team always joined floorball season as it’s perfect strength, condition and quick movement training!

What made you leave the sport? You never really leave the sport, but for me it was due to a knee-injury caused by a traffic accident. After 2 years of surgeries and extensive rehabilitation, it was pretty clear that I would never be able to go back to playing professionally again.  

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned on your journey? Hmm, this is a tough one as there’s just so many. Honestly, I think the main lesson football has taught me is that your team (and coach) is your family, and needs to be treated accordingly. You spend more hours with them every day than with anyone else. Also, there is no such thing as quitters in football – you need to put 200% in to everything you do, and believe that you can go all the way, both as individuals and as a team.

Thank you, Emelie for sharing your story with us.

The AFA Team

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Emelie and her team in Hungary for Womens 16 team.