Five women inspiring the next generation, from former football players to a Paralympian

Whether they live in the UAE or abroad, here's a look at women helping change the landscape on International Women's Day

Onyx football club is the first and only fully female owned football club in the UAE. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

Players warm-up ahead of their match.

The club also wants to be a space for women to make friends and enjoy social events such as hiking, beach days and bowling.

Onyx FC women's programme is open to all ages and abilities.

The football club is in Dubai.

They consider themselves a community that's open to all women from different backgrounds, nationalities and religions.

Onyx FC won the 2021 Arabian Women's Football League.

The club has no male involvement at all.

Onyx head coach Lauren McMurchie watches on during a match in the Expat Football Association league.

Onyx FC's belief system is centred around community and female empowerment.

An Onyx player gets ready for a match.

The team has female coaches who have played professional football in other countries.

Head coach Lauren McMurchie talks to the team before their match at Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai.

Players take a break before the match starts.

The founders of Onyx FC: Georgia Adderley, Lauren McMurchie, Lisa Hayhoe and Hind Al Zarouni at Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai.

Members of Onyx football club in training.

'We wanted to create Onyx FC to provide a community and a true women’s football club for all ages and levels,' says Georgia Adderley.

A team huddle before the match.

The Onyx football team poses ahead of their match in Dubai for International Women's Day.

There’s no shortage of female role models all around the world. Whether it's helping young athletes hone their skills or inspiring them by being a positive role model, we speak to five women paving the way for the next generation on International Women’s Day:

Lauren McMurchie and Georgia Adderley, founders of Onyx football club

A football club for women by women was the aim for Lauren McMurchie and Georgia Adderley. Joined by other co-founders Lisa Hayhoe and Hind Al Zarouni, the four created the Onyx football club in Dubai, with hopes of helping women involved in the sport excel at it.

“For me, sport is always about bringing people together and what better place to do that than the melting pot of cultures that is the UAE. Women’s football is one of the fastest growing sports across the world, however, we felt that it was not growing as quickly as we would have liked here in the UAE,” says Adderley.

“We wanted to create Onyx FC to provide a community and a true women’s football club for all ages and levels. It’s great to see the advancement of the women’s game across Europe and the US and we wanted to support the growth of the women’s football in Dubai and the wider UAE.”

McMurchie also credits the sport for helping shape her life as she spent 10 years playing for Glasgow City in the Scottish Women’s Premier League and hopes to do the same for women here. She calls it a "huge part" of her life and describes her time with the team as being like a family, something she wishes for the female footballers in the UAE.

Young women practice football drills at Onyx football club. Photo: Onyx FC

Of course, it hasn't all been smooth sailing. There’s been doubt from male colleagues whether the venture would be successful and overcoming obstacles, such as the stereotypes associated with being in a male-dominated field. But McMurchie says that this was a major reason why they wanted to start the club in the first place.

“We always wanted to create a pathway for girls’ football, a bespoke programme where they can improve as players and take football, and learnings from the game into their adult lives, something that we feel is currently missing,” she says.

“We want girls to know that when they come to Onyx, they are at a club that is supporting them and has their best interests at heart. Aside from the extensive support system we have in place, we plan to utilise our contacts at women’s clubs in Europe to offer unique experiences and opportunities for girls living in the UAE to follow their dreams in the world of football.”

Georgia Watkins, general manager of Yas Padel

Georgia Watkins is the new general manager of Yas Padel. Photo: Vogue Fitness

Georgia Watkins spent much of her youth participating in sports in Perth, Western Australia. She’d play on teams with her sisters, or spend the weekend with her father watching the local Australian Football League games. She took part in a number of sports, including netball, water polo, gymnastics and dance.

She says that through sports, she met some of her best friends and was able to create so many memories from it. However, when she turned 16, she suffered her first injury: shattering her ankle during a dance routine, essentially ending hopes to continue competing in sports at a higher level.

“Injuries happen. They are a part of life. They just weren’t something that happened to me or were part of my life, so mentally, I was not prepared,” she says. “The biggest lesson that I learnt was that life is unpredictable and we shouldn’t take things for granted. Our bodies can achieve incredible things and sometimes you don’t realise this until it is taken from you.”

The biggest lesson that I learnt was that life is unpredictable and we shouldn’t take things for granted. Our bodies can achieve incredible things and sometimes you don’t realise this until it is taken from you.

Georgia Watkins

She says that the injury still impedes some movements today, but that she has grown to become grateful for all the things her body can still achieve. And now, she’s found herself in Abu Dhabi after what she says is “complete happenstance”. Watkins was able to connect with the owners of CrossFit gym Vogue Fitness through a friend and became its operations manager in 2017.

However, she’s taken on a new position that brings her closer back to sports, as she’s now the general manager of Yas Padel in Abu Dhabi. The racquet game has become the new “it” sport of the UAE with more venues popping up in the past year.

“My time at Vogue Fitness has seen so many incredible and unique opportunities open up to me, however, the opportunity to be involved in Yas Padel at Yas Marina is one of the most exciting. To be involved in creating a community in a growing sport in the UAE is an honour and privilege to be a part of. I am excited to see how the sport of Padel grows and cannot wait to see the community flourish here at Yas Marina,” she says.

Jessica Smith, former Paralympic and motivational speaker

Australian Paralympic Jessica Smith knows a thing or two about adversity. Born without her left hand and forearm, she still excelled at swimming. The pinnacle of her athletic career came when she represented Australia at the 2004 Paralympic Games where she expected to medal in three individual events.

However, the pressure was too much and she ended up being the only member of the Australian national team to not make a final. In a previous interview with The National, she said this moment had marked a catalyst for change as she hit her rock bottom, but realising that she needed a change.

“It was hard, but — here’s the cliche part of my story — it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I gave myself permission to heal, permission to say ‘I’m not OK’. And the recovery process began.”

Since then, she’s been a motivational speaker, MC and author. She's now also part of Touch Dubai, a disability inclusion consultancy and talent management agency that she's a co-founder of.

“This was setup so we could help support people of determination who are often asked to give talks or consult with organisations and are not paid for their time or expertise. So, we really want to change that and to be an advocate and represent people of determination in a positive way,” she says.

Smith is also releasing a children's book this week called Jessica Goes to School, where the main character is much like her. It follows the tale of a young girl with one arm on her first day of school. She experiences what it's like to be different, but thanks to her teachers and classmates, they learn that being different isn't a bad thing.

Her new children's book 'Jessica Goes to School'. Photo: Jessica Smith

Although she never set out to become a role model, she says that it's a title that she doesn't take lightly. She hopes to continue inspiring others through her talks, books and advocacy.

“It’s very humbling for people to say I’m a role model because I never set out with that being the goal. I just wanted to share my story in order to help inspire other people to find their own voice to share their stories. The more we share our stories, the more we understand one another. And often that’s where stigma and bias come into play — when we often don’t know enough about other people or other situations or circumstances."

Cristina Manas Fernandez, Performance and Lead Data Science Engineer at Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E team

Cristina Manas is a performance engineer for the Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E team. Photo: Formula E

Cristina Manas remembers spending days with her father watching Formula One on television in Spain as a young girl. While he was a big fan of Fernando Alonso, she didn't really have a favourite driver — her focus was elsewhere.

“What caught my attention from very early on were the people you see in the background on TV working on the cars. Ever since then, I thought I really want to be one of them, and then put myself on the path of understanding how I had to be educated and the steps I needed to take to become one of them,” she says.

She was mesmerised and wanted to pursue a career in motorsports — but on the engineering side of it. She says her family has always been very supportive of her decision and that she feels lucky that she was able to choose a career that was entirely her choice.

In 2017, she joined the Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E Team and has progressed in a series of roles since. She started out in a simulator-based environment, then to a more performance-based role before landing at her current role — trackside as a performance engineer.

Just as she once was able to take interest in motorsports because of what she saw on television, she hopes that one day she can also inspire the next generation of young women.

“If my experience can ever serve at least one girl to choose the scientific path, then I will definitely feel very honoured by that. I think ultimately, it's children that we need to address, and I think it is our responsibility to do the job of ensuring that we give equal education to both boys and girls," she says. "It's by [providing equal education] that we will eventually start to see the ratio of girls choosing the science and technology path increase."