To celebrate our adventure Down Under, we look at our Aussie connections over the recent past...
The Blues have signed three Matildas over the years, two of whom remain very much part of Taylor’s squad for the 2024/25 campaign.
Mary Fowler joined City in 2022 from French side Montpellier and has so far clocked up 52 appearances for the Blues, scoring 11 goals.
The Cairns-born forward began her career with Adelaide United and made her debut for Australia in 2018, aged only 15 years and 162 days old!
She has already won 53 caps for the Matildas and will feature in her SECOND Olympic Games this summer, still aged only 21!
Alanna Kennedy had been with eight different clubs – not including four different spells with Sydney FC before joining City from Tottenham in August 2021.
She began her career with home city club Sydney in 2010, before moving on toe Newcastle Jets.
Then it was back to Sydney before joining rivals Western Sydney Wanderers, then Perth Glory before a third spell with Sydney.
Kennedy’s nomadic career continued when she moved to the US with Western New York Flash, later switching to Orlando Pride a year later.
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It was with Pride that Kennedy would have her longest spell – three seasons – but that includes loan spells back in Australia with CFG’s Melbourne City and – wait for it – a fourth spell with Sydney!
The COVID pandemic meant resuming her career with Orlando was difficult and so, when travel restrictions were eased, Kennedy moved to England for the first time to play for Tottenham, initially on loan before agreeing a permanent deal.
While with Spurs, Kennedy had the option of returning to the States having been drafted for Racing Louisville in the NWSL but opted to remain in the UK.
After being released by Spurs in May 2021, she was snapped up by City two months later, with the Blues recognising her experience of close on 200 club games across the globe as well as 100 international caps for Australia (she now has 122).
Still only 29, the versatile central defender is just one game shy of 50 appearances for the Blues with 49 games to date – the most she’s had at any club bar a cumulative 49 over four spells with Sydney.
Finally, Hayley Raso became our first Australian Manchester City Women’s player.
Raso, like Kennedy, has enjoyed a much-travelled career.
The Gold Coast-born forward started out with Canberra United in 2011, before switching to Brisbane Roar.
From there it was over to the US with Washington Spirit, where she was loaned to Melbourne Victory and then permanently to Portland Thorns where Raso spent three years.
During the US off-season, she had spells back home with former clubs Canberra and Brisbane, making a permanent switch to the latter in 2019.
In January 2020, Raso moved to England to play for Everton, where she would stay for 18 months before penning a two-year deal with City in August 2021.
She made her debut in a UEFA Women’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid – and it would be the Liga F giants Raso joined almost two years later having made 47 appearances for the Blues and scored nine goals.
Raso has won 86 caps so far for the Matildas and will join former City team-mates Fowler and Kennedy at the Paris Olympics next month.
As a team, our only meeting with Australian opposition came in 2016 when City beat Melbourne City 3-0 in Abu Dhabi.
