A national cross country champ as a kid, Paige Satchell's football career is now kicking on, finding her place up front in the Football Ferns and making moves in the A-League Women.
When the Football Ferns run onto the field at Eden Park to kick off the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, there’ll be a special cluster in the crowd Paige Satchell will look to.
The football-loving Satchell family have never seen Paige play in New Zealand colours, hampered by overseas fixtures and Covid restrictions. But they'll no doubt have front row seats for the landmark tournament starting in July next year, jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
The 23-year-old's football career has taken off in 2022 - starring for the Football Ferns in their recent internationals and helping Sydney FC win the Women's A-League premiership title.
Sydney FC won their second consecutive premiership last week, with Satchell's goal in the 61st minute clinching a 1-0 victory over Adelaide United.
“To get better at football, you kind of have to be overseas and be playing a lot,” she says, who had her first professional season in Germany with SC Sand, before settling in Australia last year for the A-League.
“Being away from home and away from your network of support can be tough, but it’s just one of the challenges a lot of people are going through at the moment.”
Satchell’s A-League side have continued their success, winning their semifinal against Melbourne City to secure their spot in the grand final.
“I wasn’t getting heaps of game time at the start of the season, but even just being in the training squad, I could see how much I was developing,” says Satchell, praising the depth of her team.
“More recently, I’ve been playing more so it’s been really good and I’ve been really happy with my performances.”
Satchell has played 11 games this season, with five starts including in their 4-2 semifinal overtime win, where she showed her speed on attack in the thrilling match.
“Hopefully we can get the double, win both premiership and grand final. That would be amazing.”
The time away honing her craft has really paid off for Satchell. The young forward, who debuted for the New Zealand women in 2016, has cemented her place in the Football Ferns with standout performances against South Korea and in the SheBelieves Cup in the United States last month.
Satchell started playing football when she was five at the Ngongotaha Football Club, inspired by her older sister Eillish, and realised she had potential at the age of 10.
“From a pretty young age, I was passionate about it - I guess that’s why I’ve been doing it for so long,” says Satchell.
“I’ve always loved it and that’s why I keep going. It’s brought so many opportunities career-wise, I’ve been playing professionally for a few years now which has been amazing.”
One of Satchell’s strongest assets as a player is her speed and endurance on field, which stems from her days as a national champion school cross country runner. Although she was small for her age, Satchell won the New Zealand secondary schools cross country champs for Year 9 girls in 2012.
She managed to balance both sports at John Paul College in Rotorua, until her final year of school, when she moved north to Orewa College so she could turn her focus towards football. The move improved her confidence and her skills. She made her way into national sides, including travelling to Costa Rica for the U17 World Cup in 2014.
“It was more of an enjoyment factor as to why I chose football,” says Satchell. “I just really liked being a part of a team environment - whereas running is quite an individualised sport, which I found quite stressful sometimes.”
Satchell always looked up to the Football Ferns, and was fortunate to have plenty of role models as a young footballer.
“At one of my first national talent centre camps, up in Auckland, the Ferns came to one of our training sessions and I remember Rosie White signed one of my shirts,” recalls Satchell.
“She [White] was a really big role model for me growing up and it was pretty crazy when I made it into the Ferns and I was playing alongside her. I was like ‘Oh Rosie I’ve got your shirt at home’.” The shirt is kept safe at her parents’ house.
Young girls growing up in New Zealand now have an abundance of players to look up to, with the Wellington Phoenix making their debut in the Women’s A-League this year, finishing their inaugural season with two wins. The Phoenix team was full of young talent, with an average age of 20, so game time at the professional level helped develop New Zealand’s future Ferns.
Satchell says it was about time. “It’s been a great opportunity for some of the younger players this season to step up and have their first professional gig," she says.
“They’ve done really well I’ve thought, especially some of the younger girls coming in. I think every game they’ve developed and shown how much they’ve grown as individual players and as a group.
“Hopefully next season, they’ll be able to have some home games as well, which would be super exciting. It’s been a long time coming and it’s an amazing opportunity for women’s sport in New Zealand.”
Sydney FC played the Phoenix twice, winning both games. Satchell knew most of the Kiwi players, including captain Lily Alfeld.
“It’s always a bit strange coming up against players you’ve grown up playing with, but at the end of the day, we all know how to focus our minds on the game and not really let that get in the way of how we’re performing,” she says.
“When the game finishes, we’re all good mates and we’ll go and say hi to each other."
Satchell has reaped the rewards of playing in the A-League, growing into a consistent starter for the New Zealand side.
“It’s been great to get some more game time [for Sydney] in the later stages of the season and that’s kind of helped me going into the Ferns environment as well,” she says.
Satchell started for the Ferns for all three games of the recent SheBelieves Cup, and had some of the most game time she’s had for the national side.
“I was happy with my performances at the SheBelieves Cup and I think that’s credit to the really great training environment and games here in Australia,” Satchell says.
Satchell’s Australian connection will last a little longer, with the Football Ferns travelling across the Tasman to take on Australia in two games in April.
There should be some familiar faces in yellow, with some of Satchell’s Sydney FC teammates playing for the Matildas.
“Every international fixture is really important for us as the Ferns group moving forward, as we’re in big preparation stages for the World Cup. So the Matildas are a fantastic side to play,” Satchell says.
“It’s always a really competitive game against them so hopefully we can get some really good learning out of the game and hopefully a couple of wins would be amazing as well.”
The Football Ferns’ goal is to make it out of the group stages at the World Cup for the first time, while Satchell’s also looking to stamp her mark on the team.
“A lot of the time I’ve been a young player in the group, but I’m getting a little bit older now so I’m hoping to break into that spot a bit more and be starting and getting a lot of good game time,” she says.
“Hopefully we can get a really big backing from the New Zealand fans. It’s going to be super special, it’s definitely an experience we all won’t forget for a very long time.
“We’re really hoping we can really perform and do well in front of the home crowd. We’re all so looking forward to it.”
