At 28, CommBank ParaMatilda Katelyn Smith has achieved what many athletes only dream of. She is an Asian Cup gold medallist, a two-time World Cup finalist, and a World Champion but insists that her football career has only just started.
“Growing up, I always wanted to be a Matilda,” she said.
“I was in and out of reps as a young kid, and then as a teenager, I got sick. That dream being dashed was a little bit heartbreaking.
“But then later on, finding CP Football, it brings your spark back.
“I’m 28, but I think my football career is just getting started at the same time.”
The West Australian was inspired to play football at a young age thanks to her older siblings. She excelled at junior levels, playing with boys and matching their physicality on the pitch.
She admitted that she had eyes on rugby league originally, but once she gave football a shot, she grew to love it.
“Being in a male space, it wasn’t easy to get recognition and game time,” she recalled, “but it drove me to be a better player – to work hard for what I wanted.”
Her health, as well as her inability to continue to play with the boys once she turned 16, meant that Smith no longer found herself playing club football every week.
She turned to refereeing and coaching to keep herself involved in the game until the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself in 2022 – a chance to represent the CommBank ParaMatildas on the world stage
“I didn’t want to go back to playing club football,” she said, explaining that at that stage in her life she didn’t see herself as a player.
“But now having a sense of community with the girls to be a part of something is really special. Every team turns into a family by the end of the tournament, or the end of a season. So you begin to miss that aspect.”
CP Football is like any other football, with a few minor modifications. There are five players on the field (seven for men), the field is smaller, and throw-ins may be taken underarm.
The CommBank ParaMatildas – Australia’s first national team for women and girls with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and symptoms of stroke - finished runners up at the IFCPF Women’s World Cup 2022, before winning the IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championships in 2023 and the IFCPF Women’s World Cup in 2024.
Smith was a central part of those teams. She won the award of Golden Glove at all three major tournaments, and she is also a goal scorer – she has scored 13 goals in 16 appearances for the national side.
Her success has meant that she has become a recognised figure in Australian football.
“I go to Perth Glory women’s games all the time, and more often than not I’ll get a message on Instagram afterwards, with someone saying that they spotted me in the crowd,” she said.
“It’s not just people involved in CP Football, it’s able-bodied people too. These are teenagers or young adults who watched the games and the Grand Final during the World Cup in 2024, because they were at prime time in Perth.
“There’s lots of people that watched that I didn’t expect. I have to tell them that I’m just a normal person!”
Smith channels that experience into coaching both on and off the pitch. She has recently completed the Football Australia/AFC C Diploma, with an eye on completing the B Diploma in the future, and works with the Football Futures Foundation.
“We have just launched a program where we transition people with disabilities into the workforce through sport,” she explained.
“So we have them come in alongside us, and do a work placement alongside myself and another colleague. So it’s for people with disabilities, who are coached by people with disabilities to get into the workforce.”
She works directly out on the pitch with young people with disabilities as well.
“We have a program over here for women with disabilities,” she said.
“I do a coaching session every second Saturday with these girls, and I just teach them football. There are four or five CP athletes coming through and a couple of them are very keen.
“We get roughly ten girls each session, and it ranges from age six to 18.
“I met a young girl last week, and she’s only four. She has CP and she was very excited to meet me. Her Mum loved me!”
Football West’s Manager – Female Football and Advocacy, and former Perth Glory captain Tash Rigby, said that Smith’s contributions to football in Western Australia were invaluable.
“Katelyn has contributed so much to our football community in Western Australia, both on and off the pitch,” she said.
“She has led the way for what footballers in the state can achieve and has been a role model to so many through her role with the Football Futures Foundation.
“It’s been amazing to see her success, and I am sure that it has only just begun.”
For Smith herself, the future is bright.
“Football is just about continuing to grow, whether that’s as an athlete or a coach,” she said.
“For the future of the ParaMatildas, it would be amazing to see CP Football back at the Paralympics, especially if it can be back before Brisbane 2032. It is everyone’s dream to play in a home Paralympics.
“The future is very exciting, especially for the young ones coming through. I want to help build the program for the younger ones to come through.”