As part of Girls and Women’s Week, we caught up with Football Ferns defender Claudia Bunge on her journey in football so far.

The 20-year-old has made two appearances for the Football Ferns and is also a member of the Future Ferns Domestic Programme (FFDP), which aims to produce players capable of performing at international level or earning professional contracts.

Bunge has also won both the NZ Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup and Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier League with Glenfield Rovers, as well as captaining the Northern Lights in the National Women’s League.

Read on to see what she has to say....

I first got involved in football through my family friend actually. My mum wanted me to play netball and my family friend said ‘No, I think they should play football’. So my friend and I got signed up to play football and I haven’t looked back since.

My earliest memory of football is probably my first Weir Rose Bowl tournament as an U-12. We came dead last but it was my first tournament away and I just really enjoyed being in a team for a whole week. Even though we may not have done that well it was really fun and I just enjoyed being there with the girls.

My hero growing up was definitely Rosie White. She came to one of our training camps back when I was 11 or 12 and spoke to us for a bit. I just thought she was so cool and really relatable and pretty funny. After that, I went to a few Football Ferns games and I’ve been a fan of hers ever since.

Claudia Bunge with her footballing hero Rosie White (Photosport)

My biggest influence would have to be my parents, I know it’s a cliché but they’ve just supported me the whole way through, including in the tough times. When I’ve not made teams or maybe didn’t have a great game, they’ve always been there to listen and support me.

The thing I love most about playing is that I just really love the team environment that football provides. Being part of a team just makes me feel really happy and I’ve made some of my best friends through football. But the competitive streak in me also comes into play because I like to win.

My advice to young players would just be to dream big, keep going and enjoy what you do. There’s not much point doing it if you don’t love it. I keep playing because I love it so my advice would just be to enjoy it as much as you can.

I’m grateful to be in the position I’m in and I just want to keep pushing and challenging myself as best as I can. But I want to keep loving it like I am now along the way as well.

My main focus at the moment is the Olympics, to go to the Olympic Games is something I’ve wanted to do since I was really small so getting myself in the best position to be selected for that is my main goal.

My ultimate dream is to be a professional footballer and hopefully that’s something I’ll be able to do in the near future. I think the big thing is just getting as many good trainings in a week as consistently as possible and working to develop physically. Playing against boys team in the FFDP is a real advantage and best mimics what a professional environment would be like overseas.

Claudia Bunge in action for Glenfield Rovers (Phototek)

For more information on Girls and Women's Week and to find out what's happening in your region please click here 

Article added: Wednesday 19 February 2020