CommBank Matildas captain Steph Catley has been voted the Austraffic PFA Women’s Footballer of the Year, picking up the award for the second time.
The defender captained Australia to a history-making performance on home soil during the FIFA Women's World Cup, scoring two goals in the campaign that saw the side record their best-ever finish of fourth place at the tournament.
Catley recorded another brilliant campaign with Arsenal during her fourth season, helping them to the FA Women’s League Cup and a third-place finish on the WSL ladder.
Earlier this year, Catley captained Australia in their qualifying campaign for the 2024 Paris Olympics, leading the side in Paris and scoring one goal in the campaign.
🗣️ "Receiving this award is a massive honour."
2020 🤝 2024@TheMatildas and @ArsenalWFC defender @stephcatley has been voted by her peers as the Austraffic PFA Women's Footballer of the Year for the second time after sublime performances for club and country 💪
Congrats,… pic.twitter.com/lwU9r9LvU5— Professional Footballers Australia (@thepfa) October 9, 2024
“Receiving this award is a massive honour. I think it’s one of the greatest you can receive as a player because it is peer-voted,” Catley said.
“I feel like this award reflects my development mostly from looking back at last year, I think it was a big year for our team in general, but for me personally there were many new experiences and new challenges.
“Going into the [FIFA Women’s] World Cup, I was thrown into the captaincy and leading the team at the last minute, which was massive.
“It made me have to think about more things than just my performance and I think that elevated how I was playing, and the responsibility I was taking on the field.”
