Another success story has come out of the Future Ferns Domestic Programme (FFDP) after Emma Rolston put pen to paper on a deal with German top-flight outfit MSV Duisburg.

Signing her first professional contract in Europe is the latest milestone in a whirlwind period for the 21-year-old, who starred for New Zealand at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, joined Sydney FC in the Australian W-League and then made her Football Ferns debut against Scotland earlier this year.

Rolston, known by her team mates as ‘Rollo’, is delighted to have ticked off another goal on her list and can’t wait to be involved in the Frauen Bundesliga, one of the best women’s leagues in the world.

“It feels incredible,” she says.

“It’s a great opportunity and I’m getting pretty excited to begin the journey and see what’s ahead of me. It will be a challenge but it’s one that I’m ready for. It’s great to be thrown in at the deep end, you have to learn how to swim and I’m excited to see how it goes.”

The attacking midfielder will become the fourth current Football Fern to compete in the Bundesliga – joining CJ Bott (USV Jena) and the FC Koln pair of Amber Hearn and Meikayla Moore – while Jana Radosavljevic is in the German second tier with BV Cloppenburg. She also becomes the latest graduate of the FFDP to sign professional terms, following in the footsteps of Bott, Moore, Radosavljevic , Aimee Phillips (Spartak Subotica, Serbia) and Katie Rood (Juventus, Italy).

Rolston joined the FFDP, established by New Zealand Football in 2017 to bridge the gap between the domestic and professional game, earlier this year after her stint in Sydney and says the programme has played a key role in her development.

“It was good being in that environment and being back with all the New Zealand girls. The trainings were great and I was able to work on my creativity and confidence. It was a big help to get to where I am now.”

The FFDP group, which also includes a batch of other Ferns – namely Annalie Longo, Sarah Gregorius, Paige Satchell, Malia Steinmetz, Anna Leat, Nadia Olla, Liz Anton, Sarah Morton and Stephanie Skilton – are presided over by Gareth Turnbull and assistant Gemma Lewis.

Turnbull, who combines his FFDP head coaching duties with an assistant role for the Ferns, is pleased to see another promising player come through the programme.

“This is really great news for another young talented Kiwi footballer,” he says.

“Emma left New Zealand over a year ago to challenge herself in the Australian state league system in pursuit of a W-League contract which she was duly awarded. This experience has set her up well to live abroad and contest in a high-pressure environment week in, week out,” he adds.

“The FFDP sports science and medical staff have done a brilliant job of getting Emma back to full fitness after she returned from the Ferns tour to Spain with an injury. That allowed her to go and perform well enough during her trial period in Germany to earn a fantastic contract offer. Thanks also needs to go to the NZ Football Foundation and the PFA for their continued support of the FFDP players on their transition to professional football.”

As if becoming a full-time professional in Europe wasn’t enough, Rolston has plenty else to look forward to with the Football Ferns set to play on home soil for the first time in three years next month. Coach Andreas Heraf will guide his side through a testing challenge against Japan, winners of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011, at Westpac Stadium and Rolston will relish the occasion even more than most.

“Wellington is my home town so playing there in front of my friends and family is a great opportunity,” she says.

“It’s hard to even put it into words, we usually play away so having this is indescribable and we just have to make the most of it. We need to show New Zealand what we can do and hopefully we can get their backing going into the World Cup and Olympics.”