When a club like Arsenal comes calling with an offer of a contract, it would normally take a player just a split second to make up their mind. But Niamh Fahey wasn’t sure it was the right move.
Settled at home in Galway and already immersed in a science degree at NUIG, the bright lights of London seemed a world away. And besides, soccer wasn’t even her first love.
There was one sport that mattered most in the Fahey household and that was Gaelic football. The beautiful game never had a chance as brothers Gary and Richie became All-Ireland winners with Galway in 2001, with Gary captaining the Tribesmen to victory over Meath.
It was inevitable that the passion for GAA would rub off on the energetic Niamh. But few expected her to become a star in her own right as soon as she did – emulating her brothers’ All-Ireland success with the Galway ladies at the age of just 16.
Having excelled at sports from early on, it was clear that she had a knack for competing and winning as success came in basketball with St Paul’s and in soccer with Salthill Devon before earning caps for Ireland.
It was during a friendly in an Irish jersey when Fahey perked Arsenal’s attention. They were clearly impressed, but did not act right away and when an offer did come it caught her by surprise.
‘The Arsenal Ladies had just won the quadruple and came over to play us [Ireland] in a friendly. I didn’t think much of it at the time, other than it was great to win 1-0,’ Fahey toldSportsmail.
‘Then a few months down the line, they got in touch about going over to London. I was taken aback as it was quite unexpected and not something that I even had on my mind.
‘To be honest, I was always more into Gaelic football and I had a lot to consider as I had never lived away from home before and was already in university. But it was too good of an opportunity to turn down.’
Fahey had made up her mind – she was going to give it a shot. After transferring to a similar science degree in London, she moved into a house in Hertfordshire with two other Arsenal players.
That was almost three years ago and a lot has changed since then. The capable defender is a regular starter for the Gunners, has amassed over 25 caps for Ireland and her medal collection can now rival those of her Gael brothers.
Tonight, she faces a different challenge though: selling women’s football to the masses.
The revamped Women’s Super League kicks off with a London derby match against Chelsea and with the ESPN cameras in attendance and a strong crowd expected at Imperial Fields, can Fahey and her team-mates reel in the neutrals who have tended to turn a blind eye to their game over the years?
‘It will be difficult to get the die-hard fans in, but the league is trying to do things a little differently by switching to a summer schedule so it doesn’t compete with the men’s game,’ she explained.
‘The exposure of this first game being live on TV is a big boost as we want to show that it is a good standard of football. Let’s hope it’s not a disaster and turns into a game of rugby.
‘I think we [Arsenal] play a good passing game and try to adopt the total football style of the men’s team. The only difference between them and us is that we don’t have a soft backbone.’
The 23-year-old insists she is ‘definitely not a professional footballer’, although she is open to going down that route in the future should a team from the American WPS league take an interest.
Right now, she has plenty to keep herself occupied with tonight’s league opener, Saturday’s Champions League semi-final against Lyon and completing her masters degree in London.
Everything has moved at a hectic pace since deciding to leave Galway behind, but that is how Fahey prefers it.
Taking a risk with soccer has paid off, although there is a lot more still to come.
Super Women
Along with Niamh Fahey, there are seven other Irish players in the new Women’s Super League.
Emma Byrne (Arsemal) – goalkeeper
Yvonne Tracy (Arsenal) – defender
Ciara Grant (Arsenal) – defender
Nicola Twohig (Liverpool) – defender
Stef Curtis (Birmingham City) – striker
Lillie Billson (Bristol Academy) – striker
Aine O’Gorman (Doncaster Belles) – striker