Uniting passions for language and football

Growing up in the Canterbury regions of Ashburton and Rolleston, Natasha says while there was no real inspiration behind why she wanted to play, once she started she found she loved the game.

“It was my mum who suggested I give it a go and here I am, still playing! My football journey has been a great experience so far with many highlights including having the opportunity to travel the world to play. I have been fortunate enough to play in Spain and Italy, as well as representing the New Zealand Māori Women’s team.”

At 15, Natasha moved to Australia with her family but continued playing football, which involved travelling back to Aotearoa New Zealand for the 2019 Trans-Tasman Clash of the Cultures Series against the Australian First Nations.

Natasha says when it came time to begin university, her decision was guided by what was most important to her.

“I have always loved learning languages, so I was inspired to do a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Spanish because of my passion for language learning as well as for football. I knew I wanted to play football in Spain and that learning the language would give me a significant advantage in achieving that. I chose Massey because of the distance learning programme that would allow me to continue travelling and playing football while studying.”

The 23-year-old says completing her bachelor’s degree has been a standout moment.

“It feels great to officially have that under my belt. I found studying something I was passionate about made it that much more enjoyable. I thoroughly appreciated my time at Massey and the quality of learning I was provided via distance learning. With the flexibility it offered, it was quite easy to adjust my study schedule to fit around my sporting commitments and still succeed academically.”

During her time at Massey, Natasha received the Embassy of Argentina prize. The annual prize recognises a student who has achieved top grades in their Spanish language studies and shown exceptional performance in the last two years of their major.

“It was a surprise and an honour to receive the Embassy of Argentina prize. It was nice to be acknowledged for the hard work and passion I have towards the Spanish language,” Natasha says.

Having graduated earlier this year, Natasha is currently living in Italy playing football, and has started a Master in Sports Management and Coaching at Rome City Institute. Following the completion of her master’s, Natasha says she aspires to continue her footballing career in Europe.

Photo taken by Christian Cardini.