Mary Fowler - the Australian football prodigy and Matildas’ future star

With over 50 international caps for the Matildas and goals at the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics, and the AFC Asian Cup, Mary Fowler has established herself as one of the most promising players in Australian football despite still being in her early 20s.

The Australian forward made her international debut at the age of 15 years and 162 days against Brazil in 2018, making her the fifth-youngest player to feature for the Matildas after Sharon Wass, Kelly Golebiowski, Jenna Kingsley and Sam Kerr.

Fowler’s performances at the club level have been equally impressive. She made her A-League Women debut with Adelaide United in 2020 and her talent quickly earned her an overseas contract with Montpellier HSC in France, where she played for two seasons.

In 2022, she was named the PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year and signed a four-year contract with Manchester City in the Women’s Super League.

Fowler appeared in her second Olympics as part of the Australian women’s football team for Paris 2024.

Where is Mary Fowler from

Mary Fowler was born on February 14, 2003, in Cairns, Australia. Growing up in a football-loving family with four siblings, she was inspired by her older brother to take up the sport.

Football was a constant activity in the family that chose not to have a television set at home, encouraging the siblings to pick up football and head to Trinity Beach after school.

When Mary was 11, her family moved to the Netherlands, where she got better at the sport playing street football. Mary’s elder siblings Caoimhin and Ciara also pursued football and played for the Republic of Ireland’s youth sides. Ciara went on to represent Australia at the under-20 level and played for Adelaide United.

Rising star

Fowler's talent was evident early on. By age 10, she was playing for the Queensland state Under-12 team and upon returning to Australia at 14, Fowler played in the NSW Women’s National Premier League.

Fowler’s international debut came at 15 against Brazil at the Tournament of Nations 2018 in the USA.

At the age of 16, she was named in the Matildas squad for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 after just four appearances at the senior level. Fowler’s performance at the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship Qualifiers, where she scored seven goals in three matches, played a big part in her selection.

However, she did not get a game at the quadrennial showpiece held in France.

Fowler scored her first international goal for Australia in an international friendly against Denmark in June 2021.

Breakthrough at Tokyo 2020 Olympics

By the time Fowler was 18, she had represented Australia at her first Olympics.

At the Tokyo Olympics, she scored an extra-time goal in the quarter-finals against Great Britain and helped Australia win the contest 4-3.

“(When I started playing football) I said to myself, I'm not going to finish until I make it to an Olympics,” Fowler said during an interview with Matildas.com.au.

“That was my one sporting dream, to be an Olympian. I scored a goal and I was just thinking about the little kid who’d had that dream. I got to be able to say I'd ticked that off,” she added.

At the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 held in India, Fowler, already dubbed as the next Sam Kerr at the time, scored two goals in four matches and helped the Matildas reach the knockout stages.

Mary Fowler at FIFA Women’s World Cup

By the time she was 20, Fowler had already established herself as an integral part of the Matildas setup and was an automatic choice in the Australian team for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

“The last World Cup, I didn't get any minutes, but it was still an amazing experience. Just being there with the girls gave me so much motivation to want to be there for the next one and play a bigger role,” she said.

Fowler made her World Cup debut against Ireland in front of over 75,000 spectators at Stadium Australia and went on to play six games in the tournament. She scored her first World Cup goal against Canada in Melbourne.

"She's like one of the most amazing players in our team," Matildas skipper Sam Kerr said of Fowler during the World Cup. "She's 20 years old and has a head on her like she's 30 and been around the game for 100 years."

Mary Fowler achievements

• Member of Australia’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 team
• Member of Australia’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games team
• Member of Australia’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games team
• Member of Australia’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 team
• Member of Australia’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 team
• PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2022