Having conquered the nation of her father’s heritage last week, Mary Fowler can at least count on the unequivocal support of her mother’s homeland as the Matildas look to go deep at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Kira Kira, a village within the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby, has been decked out in green and gold in support of the 20-year-old, who has becomeThat is where Fowler’s mum, Nido, is from, and where she met her future husband, Kevin.
She is the second-eldest of five football-mad kids who were raised in Australia, but with a deep and powerful connection to both sides of their heritage. More gatherings are planned for the remainder of Australia’s World Cup games, including Thursday night’s second Group B clash with Nigeria.Last week’s gathering was concocted by some of Nido’s family friends, quickly organised via WhatsApp, and announced to the village by a man through a loud hailer – or it was, once a couple of people were sent off to find fresh batteries to replace the flat ones.
Fowler, who hasn’t been to Kira Kira since she was a kid, is determined to one day return the love – ideally by staging a series of football clinics in PNG.“Obviously, there’s a whole timing thing that comes with that. But I always say, Papua New Guinea – I get so much love and support from people that I don’t even know.“It’s just special to see how much they support me and how much they believe in me and look up to me.
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