Football Ferns Goalkeeper Vic Esson always felt she wasn’t quite finished playing for New Zealand after dropping out of the squad at 19. Her amazing story is a lesson in peserverance.

The Word with Wendy Petrie

“I’ve never been the most talented athlete or most athletic football player, the thing I can do is work hard.” With the biggest women’s sporting event in the world here in New Zealand, the FIFA World Cup, we catch up with Football Ferns Goalkeeper Vic Esson. Her story is remarkable. After playing with the U17 & U20 squad she dropped out of the High Performance programme, instead taking up a US sports scholarship, before working fulltime, & playing with a men’s club team. Finally at the age of 27 years, Vic turned professional at a time when many are moving on from elite sport. Vic’s dream of playing with the Football Ferns again came true when she was named in the team from Scotland where she’s playing with the Rangers. Vic says it’s hard for the Ferns to comprehend the excitement of a home World Cup & is excited about inspiring the next generation.