CommBank ParaMatilda Tahlia Blanshard said that the team was focused on continual improvement after their IFCPF World Cup triumph last year.
She was speaking to Football Australia media after the team’s three-day training camp in Sydney over the weekend.
“It's always important to just keep improving in our game,” she explained.
“The truth is, this sport is growing rapidly. Every month, there are new countries developing squads and starting to play games.
“We know that the next World Cup will be even tougher than the one that we went to, and that's a really exciting challenge. So it's just important that we focus on enjoying our game and playing our game the best we can.”
She said that the camp was all about coming back together and resetting ahead of their next tournament, which will be the IFCPF Intercontinental Cup in Loughborough, England, in August.
“It's just really exciting to be back having those touches on the ball with everyone and just being in the same place at the same time,” she said.
“The first training session was all about reconnecting as a team, having that fun in the football and getting that focus reset ahead of our next round of tournaments as they come in the next year.
“It's so amazing to have lifted a World Cup, but now the goal is to be able to lift a second and also just to prove to ourselves what we can actually achieve together.”
Blanshard has played in both IFCPF World Cups where the CommBank ParaMatildas have participated. In 2022, they made the final, before lifting the trophy in 2024 after overcoming the United States.
Those tournaments were overseen by inaugural Head Coach Kelly Stirton. This camp has seen a change in the coaching department with former Matilda Alicia Ferguson stepping into the role as Interim Head Coach.
She was previously a part of the team’s preparations before the World Cup in 2024.
“First impressions are that it's really exciting,” Blanshard said of the appointment.
“Change is always a big thing, a big adjustment, but I think we just have such an amazing family here, and I'm really excited to see what the future holds.”
She explained that any time the team comes together - and is able to play matches - is vitally important to the program as a whole.
“It's always that slight difficulty when you've got your whole squad spread across the country,” she said.
“So any opportunity to have everyone together is really valuable. It's also just a great group of girls, so it's just such a privilege to be with them. We enjoy it, and it will also help us grow.
“I am looking forward to the prospect of having more elite matches, having the opportunity to have family, friends and fans come along and see us play. To have the future generation of players have that opportunity to watch, to learn and to become inspired, to chase their dreams, or maybe even get involved themselves.
“It's so valuable and something that I'm really looking forward to.”
One of the team’s biggest goals, apart from lifting more silverware in the future, is helping to advocate for CP Football to be back in the Paralympics for Brisbane 2032.
Blanshard expressed how much it would mean to the team to see that achieved.
“Having CP football back in the Paralympic schedule for Brisbane 32 is the biggest dream,” she said.
“It's something that I think about most days. It's something that many of us have been discussing, working and aiming for since the day that we first started playing this sport.
“Playing at the Paralympics is the absolute pinnacle for para-sports. So it would be an absolute dream come true to have the opportunity to have this game represented and, more importantly, have all these girls wearing the green and gold in the Paralympics.”