Sarah Gregorius is one of the characters in the Football Ferns squad. She makes a massive impact both on and off the field. We caught with the experienced forward, who is the Girls and Women’s Development Officer for Capital Football, on one of the most important weeks of the community football calendar. She talks about the significance of Girls and Women’s Week.

How did you start playing football?

I was a late bloomer, I was 12. Where I lived in Upper Hutt was close to a field and my friend was having a kick about, and she was like “it’s right next door to where you live, come down and have a kick around”. I distinctly remember the moment I was like ‘this is a bit of me". I signed up for club football at Upper Hutt that season and haven’t stopped since.

When did the chance to play for New Zealand start to happen?

Late. I played in Australia for a year, came home to try and make the U-20s and go to the 2006 U-20 WWC, which I did. But from there I didn’t get onto the Ferns radar for about four years. I made my debut when I was 24, which is late. So everything happened late but then once I made my debut I played a lot of football in a short time.

How did that affect your mentality coming into the Ferns?

I had a huge sense of appreciation. I’d had a couple of big injuries as well so by the time I got there I was like ‘you’re going to have to pry this from my cold dead hands’. It was a sense of achievement, it was very satisfying because I think most people would’ve given up or listened to everyone else telling them ‘you’re not going to crack it’.

Where were you based at the time you were selected?

I moved to Auckland for the U-20s and stayed afterwards, went to university, got my degree and found a really good job. So I was working in the real world for a while before I made the Ferns, which I think gave me a different outlook. I played for Lynn Avon, when we had a ridiculously good team.

How did you first begin to play professional football?

I made my debut in 2010 and in 2011, we went to the World Cup in Germany. And then a month after coming home I was back on a plane to Germany because I’d been scouted and picked up.

You’ve played in Germany, for SC 07 Bad Neuenahr, in England for Liverpool and in Japan for AS Elfen Saitama. What were the differences between those environments?

Germany is rigid and structured. It’s a tough league. England was serious in a different way. The league had just started and Liverpool was one of the first teams to take it seriously so that was cool. Then Japan blew my mind. It was this all-sensory experience. It was by far and away my best experience, though the hardest. I was so far out of my depth in terms of technical ability and that sharpened me up really quickly. I love the way they play. Their philosophy was that the game should be the easiest part of the week, so you trained at this insane intensity. It was amazing.

How did those experiences benefit you?

I think the life I was living before playing professionally was unsustainable, it put a ceiling on my development. I needed to be full-time to develop into a good international player. It’s fascinating to see the growth in terms of the multitude of opportunities now though. Back in 2011 if you weren’t in Sweden, Germany or America you weren’t a professional footballer. Now there’s leagues all over the place.

How does it feel to be a leader in the Football Ferns, having helped negotiate the Collective Bargaining Agreement?

I’ve had different experiences so I have a different outlook. I fell into a leadership role, certainly with the PFA. I’m quite assertive. I think the other girls identified it and people in the PFA identified it. I’m passionate about the girls and trying to make things better not just for us but the next ones that come along. The girls really seem to trust me, which I feel very privileged about. I guess it’s formed a huge part of my identity as a Fern.

Why is the Collective Bargaining Agreement so important?

It’s a really significant platform to speak from. I was tired of the Ferns or women’s football being referred to as the other. We needed to be able to come and speak from the same platform as footballers. The conditions in the CBA are not about who is more valuable. It’s about what is best for the players and our welfare, and how should we care about people. I think the symbolism of it is important for me. I can already see after a year that we are treated differently. It’s not about this for one player and this for another because of gender. It’s ‘what are they? Both elite players, international players, key members of their respective teams’.

If the next generation never have to fight some of these fights, if they never have to battle for recognition for just who they are and what they’re capable of, it’s massive. I’m stoked that we can give them that gift because fighting for respect is tiring. If they can focus on becoming the amazing footballers they will be, that’s awesome.

Who were your role models growing up?

It wasn’t visible back then like it is now. I knew Wendi Henderson. But that was not because I knew about the national team-I played against her. I remember being like ‘woah this person is on another planet’. Certainly there were no pathways. And I think my golden ticket was that my parents had really no idea. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t have football really pushed on me, everything I did and all of my ambition was organic.

Does that inform your work at Capital?

I think about of all of the things that make people stay involved in a sport, at whatever level. The thing is love for the people-ask any of the Ferns. I try recreate that in environments.

But as I’ve come back to NZ I can see the benefit of genuine role modelling and I get the saying “can’t be what you can’t see”. I think women and kiwis in general don’t want someone to put them on a pedestal, but I’ve seen over the last week the way the young girls react to people like Anna Green and Katie Bowen and Flea [Annalie Longo]. That’s part of the hook, for sure.

What are your thoughts on the future of New Zealand women’s football?

I feel like my generation of players, this year is our opportunity. We need to show what we’re capable of and it feels like 2019 in particular, off the back of 2018, all of this is coming together now. But I look at some of our young players and the opportunities that are in front of them, the focus on women’s football from really important stakeholders and society-what will the conversations be in five years?  I really think the sport in NZ is like a little speedboat. You can be out front and you can pioneer it. If we keep striving, the sport will go from better place to better place.

Story Credit: Helena Wiseman 

Article added: Tuesday 26 February 2019