Kempsey resident Marney Duval is used to travelling for football after heading to Port Macquarie regularly to play for the Port United Football Club.
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But the 16-year-old talent will be travelling the furthest she's even been for the sport on Wednesday, December 6, after being just one of a handful of girls across Australia selected to play in the 2023 Ultimate Fiji Soccer Cup.
Port Macquarie residents Harper Bailey and Jonnie-Bree Gore as well as players from Adelaide, Wagga Wagga and Sydney will be joining Duval as part of the under 15 and 16 squad.
"I'm scared but excited as well," Duval said.
"It will be a good experience and good time to go nad meet new people and just be over there.
"I'm prepared but it's going to be a lot different when we're there. It's going to be really hot."
The squad will be accompanied by Port United's own Brenton Doyle.
"A lot of it is about taking the sport over there because [Fiji] is really starting to come into it," Doyle said.
"The girls get to go to villages to donate shirts and balls and just get a great life experience.
"Plus it is a competition so first past the post make the final."
The team has a busy schedule with chances to visit local villages and meet Fijian school children.
They'll also be competing against local teams and potentially playing against the under 16 Fijian World Cup Team.
"I'm confident that it's going to be a really good experience for them," Doyle said.
"Some of them are going to have to play in different positions and adapt to that which can be nerve wracking in itself but they'll be fine."
Doyle has attended the Cup in previous years with the last team he coached winning in 2019.
This year is his first year back at the Cup after COVID-19 put all travel plans on hold.
"It's exciting for me," he said.
"I was actually scouted myself because I'm supposedly good with the young people.
"I'm a kid at heart so that's probably why."
It's an attribute that's a big help for the squad- especially when the sixteen players are spread out in separate states across Australia.
Doyle has set up a Whatsapp group for the girls to introduce themselves but most of them will be meeting for the first time at the airport.
"There's a lot of girls that are pretty shy and it's a way for them to become more confident people," Doyle said.
"They're teenage girls so they'll soon connect in some way.
"I'm very big on 'we must bond'... so you've got to go and be brave and open your hearts."
Duval said the girls have also been interacting via Zoom to bond.
"It's a bit hard but it will be a good experience when we see each other so we can all bond and get to know each other," she said.
"It will be good."
Emily Walker
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
