The captain of the Northern Ireland football team is marking her Mother's Day preparing for the biggest sporting challenge of her career and is hoping to show future stars that having a family and being a top athlete is very possible.
Marissa Callaghan's dedication to her team is a hallmark of her career and has led her to make history with her squad as they head to the Women’s Euro 2022 finals.
Marissa said: “It’s so important for women in sport to know that if they want to have kids it can happen - that women do believe it is possible to have kids and have a career in sport.
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“There are women of all ages who have gone away and had babies and come back. On our team we have Sarah McFadden, and she has a wee girl Harper, who's five. She came back and played an international match three months after she gave birth.
“It’s raising the awareness and telling the stories that it is possible so we can inspire the next generation of women in sport.”
Growing up in West Belfast in a time when an international women’s football side wasn’t even in existence, never mind a possibility, it’s little wonder the passionate player has become a role model for women in sport and for the next generation of female athletes.
“I do take pride in inspiring the next generation of girls coming up,” said Marissa.
“Football has given me so much in my journey, I love to show young girls that it’s a great sport to be in. But not just football but any sport – the life lessons you learn – you can’t put a price on it.
“Football’s my passion and I just want to let young girls know that football is great for your mental and physical health. I don’t know where I would be without it.”
A significant gap between men and women taking part in sport still exists, with women less likely to have taken part in sport at least once within the last year, 55 per cent, than men, 62 per cent.
According to Sport NI figures this gap gets wider on our sidelines with women representing just 19.5 per cent of the overall sports coaching workforce in Northern Ireland and this dropping to just 10 per cent for those who coach our World, Olympic or Paralympic medallists.
Marissa believes that listening to women and funding in sport are key factors in closing the gap.
“It’s so important to listen to women from all levels of sport to be able to improve experiences and see what we can do better. This panel also gives visibility to women who are in sport, coaching, leadership, and governance levels. That is so very important for females to see these real-life scenarios and see that it’s possible to achieve these roles.”
The Cliftonville player/coach, who is mum to Quinn, two, seems to have found the enviable balance between family life and her job on the pitch.
She’s quick to credit her supportive partner Paula and the recent funding from the IFA, sponsors, and the Department for Communities (DfC) for helping make that work-life balance happen.
“In January we got fully funded to train professionally. So those who were working full-time got put on secondment and are training up at Newforge (Sports Complex) full-time.
“That has been a massive gamechanger for me," she explained.
Not only is it allowing Marissa, and the rest of the women’s international team to concentrate on their game, but for the captain, she’s getting precious time with her little boy.
She continued: “I’m able to drop him off and pick him up at creche. We get home, make dinner and have a normal family life. Whereas before we got the investment to go full-time you were working in your day job and were out most evenings.
“I’m fortunate to have a supportive partner there who understands what it means to play at this level. Obviously, we go away a lot so that can be tough.
“But at the same time, I know that I do it for the love of the game – it’s my thing. For our Quinn, I just think it will be amazing for him to look back on. I know he’s only two now but at least I’ll have a great story to tell him. It’s better for him to believe he can do anything.
“Quinn loves football. We have footballs of all sizes and shapes here. He’s ‘mama football’ and we play away. He does associate football with me so when football is on TV, he’s ‘mama, mama.’”
Marissa and the team Euros to look forward to and the World Cup qualifiers coming up against Austria, April 8, and England, April 12.
“The momentum we’ve built here within the women’s game here is incredible. If you look back three years ago, we would have had maybe 50 people watching us play. Obviously off the back of our success and qualifying for the Euros there are over10,000 tickets sold for the England game at Windsor.
“It’s really hard to believe. I definitely think it’ll be an emotional day when we’re there at Windsor with that many fans. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
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