With Caitlin Foord carrying the flag for the Illawarra in France at the Women's World Cup, a small army of young girls has emerged hoping to replicate their hero.
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One such girl is Janaya Baroudi and the 12-year-old is already showing promising signs in her quest to follow in Foord's footsteps.
Baroudi and South Coast teammate Indiana Dos Santos were recently selected to represent NSW at August's Australian PSSA Championships in Canberra.
The selections came after the pair produced impressive tournaments for South Coast at the NSW Primary School Girls Football Championships, with South Coast ultimately finishing in sixth position.
For Baroudi, the selection came as quite a shock, though she's looking forward to representing her state against the country's best.
"It was a big surprise," Baroudi said. "I was just trying my best at the competition and I scored a lot of goals."
"I had never been picked for a NSW team before and I had worked so hard for it, so it was a really good feeling.
"I'm very excited for nationals in Canberra, my goals are to score lots of goals and hopefully we can win the tournament. Last year NSW came second and Queensland won, so they will be our biggest rival."
While the journey from junior star to Matilda is a long one, Foord has shown it's certainly not impossible.
Like Baroudi and Dos Santos, Foord was selected to represent NSW PSSA as a pre-teen back in 2006. Joining Foord in that NSW team was her current Matildas teammate Alanna Kennedy.
For a striker like Baroudi, her love for Foord stems from their shared knack for finding the back of the net.
"Caitlin Foord's my hero. She's a centre striker like me and she plays really well.
Caitlin Foord's my hero. She's a centre striker like me and she plays really well.
- Janaya Baroudi
"One day I'd like to represent the Matildas and play in a World Cup like Caitlin."
A member of the Illawarra Stingrays SAP program, Baroudi recognsies the club has helped her develop her football throughout the past four years she has spent with the club.
"The Stingrays have taught me a lot about football and have been very helpful. I've been with them for four years and really improved a lot in that time."
NSW PSSA Girls Football Championships
SOUTH COAST 4 defeated RIVERINA 0
SOUTH COAST 3 defeated POLDING 0
SOUTH COAST 0 defeated by MACKILLOP 3
SOUTH COAST 2 defeated by HUNTER 3
SOUTH COAST 3 defeated SYDNEY NORTH 2
SOUTH COAST 5 defeated WESTERN 0
SOUTH COAST 1 defeated by SYDNEY EAST 2
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