Most important points
- Teagan Micah is one of the Matildas’ goalkeepers and is part of the squad for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
- She is currently recovering from a deltoid ligament injury and in 2022 she suffered a serious concussion.
- She said injuries didn’t change her playing style, but they did give her more compassion and awareness.
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are about to officially begin and for some athletes, these will be the most important days of their lives.
No athlete wants to get injured before the world’s biggest sporting event, but for some, that’s just the way it is.
Matildas goalkeeper Teagan Micah is recovering from a deltoid ligament injury suffered at the end of her season with Liverpool in England.
It’s not the first time she’s had to take a break from the sport she loves.
Matildas goalkeeper Teagan Micah described the Olympic tournament as “extremely tough”. Source: MONKEY / Sipa VS
In December 2022, Micah suffered a serious concussion, which sidelined her for months.
She said the experience hasn’t changed her goalkeeping style or stopped her from being a physical player, but it has given her a new perspective.
“It has given me a much better understanding of concussions and a much better knowledge of them. It has also given me a much better understanding of mental health,” she said.
“I was struggling tremendously with my mental health at that time.”
Micah says she now encourages athletes to take care of themselves both physically and mentally and not to take risks when it comes to head injuries.
“I’m the first one to say to my teammates, especially if they’re a centre-back and they’re heading the ball all the time and they look a bit dizzy, I say, ‘Sit down, take your time. It’s not that deep. It’s just a game of football,'” she said.
“So many of us have always had that ‘kick-on’ mentality, but at the end of the day it’s your head. I’d rather see people really take care of that and feel 100 percent, rather than pushing to play the rest of the game.”
The topic of head injuries in sport has become increasingly prominent in recent years across various sporting competitions including football, AFL and rugby league.
Micah said the problem is still not well understood.
“I think there needs to be a lot more awareness, even if it’s just through research and studies. All those things are going to help,” she said.
“And I think there needs to be more expert physicians in that area, but also just the realization that you have to know when to stop for yourself and when to draw the line.”
Olympic Games an ‘extremely tough’ tournament
The Olympic football tournament is short and intense, and the Matildas will face tough opponents in their group matches, including Zambia, Germany and the United States.
Micah said the heat and fast turnaround times would be a challenge for all teams.
“Hopefully we can rotate and use our selection because it goes so quickly,” she said.
“So we need everyone to be healthy, fit and ready to go. Because not only the fast days, but also the heat and the quality of the opponents play a role.”
During the 2023 Women’s World Cup, women’s football in Australia grew in popularity, with matches selling out across the country and the semi-final against England attracting an average of 7.13 million spectators nationwide.
Public support for the team remains strong, with home games for the Olympic qualifying matches also sold out.
Micah said the support the Matildas received was “huge” for the team.
“When you see how many stadiums we as Matildas fill and sell out… that support is hugely appreciated by every single one of us,” she said.
“And we see all the fans before the games, after the games, and we do our best to give back, sign autographs and make the kids as happy as we can, because we recognize that as kids we didn’t really have those kind of role models to look up to.”
We didn’t really have any role models to look up to.
Teagan Micha
“We know that we also have a great responsibility in this.”
But when it comes to women’s sports and equality in football, Micah says there is still a way to go.
Players in the women’s league still receive less prize money and lower salaries than their male counterparts, and in some countries women are still not recognized as professional athletes, she said.
“I think there is a little bubble where it (improves), but we also have to consider the bigger picture of other countries who are still fighting to even get paid by (their) national team and to get a decent standard in terms of travel and pitches and all those things,” she said.
“Even right after the World Cup, I think, it was Nigeria, [players] fought to even get paid by their federation, even though that money was theirs, rightfully theirs, and they still had to fight for it.
“Things like this remind you that there is still a long way to go.”
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