Matildas Star Walks the Walk
Australian defender Winonah Heatley is using her platform to shine a light on climate change
Following in the recent footsteps of Ellie Carpenter and Clare Hunt, 23 year old Winonah Heatley is the latest Matildas defenders to hail from a regional Australian small town and find themselves playing in a big European league.
‘Wini’ had her first taste of playing overseas in Sweden in 2021 before coming back to play with Melbourne City in the A-League. She was barely out of her teen years during that first European experience, and after coming from the small far North Queensland town of Julatten and its population of just over 1000 people, she told HER WAY it was initially a steep learning curve.
“I think in every big move there’s going to be a bit of a teething period, and there’s definitely been some tough times when I first moved over there - particularly as a young player when you move to another country and you’re not getting game time, it’s difficult to make yourself feel better about being away from your family and your friends, and everything gets a bit harder when you’re not playing.
But at the same time it made me realise a lot of things, and it made me come back to why I’m actually playing and getting that purpose.”
That kind of maturity and self awareness is one of the reasons Wini is now a co-captain at her current club side, Nordsjaelland in Denmark, where at 22 years old she helped lead them to the Danish Cup title last year. Heading into this current international window, they’re a chance to go back-to-back as they compete in the semi finals once again.
As well as explaining her approach to football, Wini is also articulate and thoughtful when it comes to speaking up for issues she believes in. She is part of the Athlete-led ‘Front Runners’ movement, an Aussie organisation of sports stars using their platforms to see meaningful discussion and change concerning climate change.
“Over the last couple of years I’ve kind of come to the understanding that I can use football to make the world a better place. The environment is something that I’m extremely passionate about, because I think not enough people take the effects of climate change and that sort of thing seriously, and it is something that is seriously going to impact future generations, and is already impacting us right now.”
As more sports are impacted by extreme weather conditions, whether it be heat, smoke or flooding, Wini’s upbringing in the tropical north of Queensland is a big reason why she wanted to be involved.
“I grew up in far North Queensland where there’s a lot of natural, beautiful resources like the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforests, and over my lifetime I’ve already seen the impact on the Great Barrier Reef. So I think it’s something that’s very visible for me, so obviously that’s something I’d love to have an impact on while also following my dream.”
Wini wasn’t always as certain that sport could be a way to shine a light on issues:
“While I was in high school I definitely thought that [environment] was something I had to pursue separately to football, and now it’s nice to have the realisation that I can have an impact on those kind of things during my career.”
The A-League, which runs throughout summer, has been impacted multiple times by weather throughout this current season. Even as recently as yesterday, a match was played during the international window as it had been rescheduled due to extreme heat forecast in the third week of Autumn, while another game was forced to be reschuled earlier in March after heavy rain from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
“Some of the climates that players have to play in week in, week out in the A-League - there’s girls getting heat stroke. It’s conditions that will continue to get worse and worse unless we do something about it.”
Wini also literally walks the walk regarding the environment, taking to the pitch wearing an environmentally sustainable brand of football boots. But can such courses of action by athletes actually lead to meaningful change? Wini believes so.
“I think definitely football can have an incredible impact because it’s the world’s game. There’s fans all over the world that really look up to those athletes, so I definitely think there’s a big platform to make change, and that’s something we should take advantage of.”