Kate Gill

New Zealand-born and Newcastle-raised striker Kate Gill first represented Australia as a member of Australia’s U20 Women’s National Team (Young Matildas) squad for the 2002 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.  Two years later Gill earned her first senior cap for the Matildas in 2004 debuting against New Zealand.

A technical striker, Gill added an extra dimension to Australia’s attack with her adept aerial presence.  Settling into the squad, she represented Australia in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2008 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. In that timeframe she became a reliable  goalscorer including a remarkable run of goals in the Beijing 2008 Olympics Qualifying games, where she scored five goals against both Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In 2010, Gill created history as the first Australian to be awarded the AFC Women’s Player of the Year off the back of her assisting the Matildas in claiming the AFC Women’s Asian Cup for the first time.  She would also go on to represent Australia at the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup helping the nation to silver and in that same tournament she surpassed Cheryl Salisbury to be the highest goalscorer at that time.  Gill would go on to record 41 goals for the Matildas and currently sits third on the all time goalscorers list for the women’s national team. 

In club football, Gill is also a two-time W-League Golden Boot with Perth Glory, and also represented the likes of Newcastle Jets and three different clubs in Sweden – Sunnana SK, LbD Malmo, and Linkopings - between 2009 and 2011.

Selected in the national team for 12 years, including as captain, Gill is as much of a leader off the pitch, serving as a long-serving member of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Matildas Committee. Always a committed advocate for women’s sport, Gill became the first woman to be appointed to the PFA Executive Committee and the first female CEO (jointly held). In her roles she has championed the push to collectively organise for better remuneration and conditions for female footballers as well as being a strong role model and mentor for those transitioning to life after football.