This year’s Female Football Week Player of the Year award winner, Francesca Blyth reflects on what winning the award means to her, how football has impacted her life, and what legacy she wants to leave behind.
As the United Warriors Football Club women’s team captain, Blyth embodies what it means to be a fair player, always showing respect and care for teammates, opponents and officials out on the pitch.
Despite admittedly not being the “best player,” to take the field, it’s her commitment to improving and providing an inclusive environment that makes her such a positive role model in the community.
“I’m far from the most skillful player on our team, I really have quite clunky skills, but I just don’t give up,” Blyth explained.
“You don’t have to have the world’s best skills, all you’ve got to do is try. And you can become such a valuable person in the community just by trying… You just need to have that determination and care for your teammates.”
Nicknamed ‘Franteen’ by her teammates due to how much time she spends volunteering in the club’s canteen, Blyth is much more than just a player. She is also passionate about growing women’s football in her community, mentoring the younger players, even finding herself behind the gardening tools and mowing the fields when needed.
“More recently I’ve started involving myself in more than just playing, because it really is largely about the connection,” she said.
“I’ve got really lovely, strong connections with the women and youth girls that I play alongside, and because of how much I value that, I’ve pushed it beyond just playing.”
However, Blyth initially had her reservations about volunteering her limited spare time away from work, but learned that by just giving it a go, she found something she really loved and is keen to share her experience with others.
“I actually didn’t think I would like working in the canteen but my partner who was already volunteering, encouraged me to do it with her. I enjoyed it so much that I now do shifts without her,” she said.
“The encouragement I would give to others wanting to volunteer is that you don’t need to commit to huge amounts straight away. I still look at myself and think, I just do a little bit, but if everyone is making a small contribution in different ways, little things become big.”
Despite growing up playing football, Blyth regrettably gave up the sport during her high school and university years to focus on her studies. She made her return to the sport in 2017 after earning her degree in Speech Pathology, and while she re-joined football for fitness at first, she soon realised it gave her something much more important: community.
“I stopped for a period of time, probably in early high school. I gave soccer away and I look back now and it’s something I really regret doing,” she explained.
“I was ready to come back to football, mainly for fitness, but I didn’t want to just go to a gym or do a solo sport, I wanted a team. I love the whole concept of people striving for the same goal, having that ambition and having mates around while you do it.
“Since returning, I’ve found that I enjoy playing in a women’s team with so much youth because I really like to foster that idea that you can do both: school and sport.”
Blyth settled on joining United Warriors Football Club in regional Queensland, a club so small that she was shocked when she found out that she’d won the Female Football Week Player of the Year award.
“When this award came to me, it was a very big surprise: my jaw almost fell off my face,” she said.
“We’re a little team, a little club, that’s why I feel very chuffed that this award, incredibly, has come out regionally to someone like myself.
“It really is remarkable because the pathways for young people regionally [are] still pretty tough, so to have an award given to someone regional it shows others that great things happen out here too It’s just really wonderful to see.”
Receiving the award has also caused Blyth to reflect on and recognise those who have impacted her along the journey and remind her of the importance of having women present in the community. She wants to carry on that legacy well into the future.
“I thought about all the mentors and strong female role models in my club when I went to United in 2017,” she said.
“We had Belinda Kitching, who’s an ex-Matilda’s player, and her wife, Sarah Walker, who were both there at that time. I remember their influence on the game and how they built women’s football in our area.
“I’ve also got to know Renee Crilly at my club, who I think, by all accounts, is a star. I think being able to slip in alongside those other strong female players has been really helpful and kept me going and really enjoying everything.
“I want to keep normalising women in football and creating a supportive community and environment and I want young girls to be more confidently involved in the game for longer.”
