Clare Wheeler

Born in the NSW north coast town of Coffs Harbour and brought up in Newcastle, Clare Wheeler discovered football as a 10-year-old, when a friend started playing and convinced her to come along.

The rest of Clare’s family were a little mystified when she announced she wanted to play with Adamstown Rosebud FC.

“No one in my immediate family was football inclined and they kind of had to learn the rules of the game with me at the same time,” she said.

Clare quickly showed talent and continued her development at Newcastle’s Hunter Sports High School. At the age of 13 she was selected to play in the state youth league and by the time she was 15 she was playing for the Newcastle Jets in the A-League Women.

A combative defensive midfielder, Clare played for Newcastle for the next seven years before signing for Sydney FC.

She also pursued a career in finance, completing a bachelor of commerce at Sydney University and in 2020 she was playing for Sydney FC while working at a bank.

“I wanted to be more than just a footballer,” she said. “I wanted to pursue my education in commerce alongside football to ensure I had a football/life balance.”

Clare made the move to Europe in 2021, signing with Danish club Fortuna Hjørring. The following year she was loaned to English Women’s Super League team Everton, and the deal was made permanent in 2023.

She made her debut for the Matildas in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in September 2022 and she was in the squad for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup that year.

Clare was also in the squad as the Matildas captured Australia’s imagination with their thrilling run to the semi-finals of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She spent most of the tournament as a back-up to a Matildas midfield featuring the quality of Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross.

However, injuries to key players have created opportunities for her. She scored her first international goal in an 8-0 win over the Philippines in Perth in October 2023 and was in the squad as the Matildas qualified for the Paris Olympics with home and away victories over Uzbekistan in February 2024.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Clare and the Matildas faced Germany, Zambia and the USA in a tough Group B.

A tournament-opening 3-0 loss to Germany was followed by a dramatic 11-goal thriller against Zambia, where the Matildas came back from 5-2 down to win 6-5. Facing a must-win scenario against the USA to stay alive, the Matildas' tournament ended on another 3-0 loss.

Clare’s long-standing mantra has been “just give things a crack” and she has consistently strived to push herself out of her comfort zone.

“You're not going to grow unless you push yourself,” she said. “So that's what I've done. I want to do the most that I can, while I can.”

She plans to keep on pushing even when her football career is over.

“I think the next step for me will be to continue in my further education,” she said. “I don’t have a particular position in mind, but I’m very interested in sustainable economics and I enjoyed working in the fast-paced financial industry.”