Charlotte Grant: The rising Aussie star abstaining from alcohol to achieve her Matildas dream

If the Matildas win the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™, you will find Charlotte Grant celebrating with some soft drink or orange juice.

The image of footballers - and athletes - around the world popping bottles of champagne is commonplace after a big win, like say, a World Cup.

In recent years, that custom has begun to change in some corners to ensure everyone, regardless of religion, culture or addiction issues, can celebrate together.

For 21-year-old Grant, her abstinence from alcohol isn't due to any of that.

The fullback made a decision herself, as she rose through the ranks, in order to be the "best player" she could.

And because of that she doesn't mind being around it, she actually loves the feeling of "staying strong" to her decision.

"I still haven't had any alcohol," she told Optus Sport.

"At a young age, I remember going to a presentation of an athlete and them mentioning something about alcohol and that they said if they didn't drink, maybe they would have gone further than what they did.

"That kind of stuck with me like, if I want to be the best player I can, maybe that 1% of not drinking will push me to a higher level.

"And I just love that feeling of staying strong to that but yes, it's definitely around me a lot but I just have my water or maybe an orange juice or lemonade. After a game, sometimes ice cream is a good go-to as well.

"But I think that's something that I want to stick to as long as I can."

It wasn't the only decision Grant made at a young age that led her along the path to her August 2021 Matildas debut and her first World Cup.

Her first one came as a young athlete splitting her time between the round-ball game and netball in Adelaide.

Considering where she finds herself today, in Melbourne preparing for Australia's 'send-off' match against France, you can guess what she chose.

"That's a really hard decision to make at such a young age," she admits.

"What I loved about football was that freedom, you can do so much on the ball, you can run in so many different spaces and I think netball was a little bit restrictive in that sense.

"Football gives you the freedom to express yourself and ... I just loved every moment that I was playing, so I had to choose football and I'm so glad I did."

Grant grew up playing for Cumberland United as a junior, moving between the wing and midfield on the pitch.

She only found her preferred fullback position thanks to a decision by her South Australian state coach.

"The first time I played fullback was when I was in, I think, under 13s at Coffs Harbour nationals," Grant recalled.

"There was a quick winger and then my coach put me in fullback for the first time and I was like, 'Okay, I guess I could do this' and I've kind of been stuck there since.

"But how I love it there, I love the freedom to attack and also defend."

Her move to defence sheds some light on why one of her idols on the pitch growing up was Emma Checker.

That and the fact her playing in the A-League Women's and Matildas showed her it was possible "to have that pathway and to do that from South Australia".

Grant was a frequent figure on the sidelines of ALW matches in Adelaide, asking Checker to sign things.

So it was "almost a little embarrassing" when she found herself lining up alongside her idol turned teammate turned mentor for Adelaide United in 2018.

Given how influential Checker was in inspiring her to pursue the game, by always engaging with fans, giving back time to fans is an everyday thing for Grant because she knows, firsthand, the impact it can have.

And she feels privileged to be on the other side now, that's why she still remembers the first time she saw her name on the back of someone's jersey.

"I think it might have been an Adelaide United game. There were a few girls with Grant on the back and that was just a really special feeling to see that I am inspiring the younger girls," she told Optus Sport.

"It just pushes me to work harder and keep showing them that anything's possible."

Although she had plenty of opportunities on the pitch in SA for United and in the state's National Training Centre program, she made the decision to move to Sydney for the Future Matildas program.

For the first time, she was away from family and living independently, while pursuing her passion on the pitch.

It was "a really great stepping stone" for her overseas endeavours to come especially since Grant's move to Sweden came thick and fast.

The transfer window was closing and she only had three days to accept an offer from FC Rosengård in 2021.

"It was definitely a very overwhelming decision. I remember when I first got that offer, I called so many different coaches who I really trusted and asked, 'What do you think?'," Grant recalls.

"But just looking at the squad, they had the likes of Caroline Seger, who's Sweden's captain, and then you've got these other national team players that you're surrounding yourself with. I just knew that by going there, whether I was playing or not, I was going to be in a really good training environment.

"So it ended up being an easy decision, but initially it was like, 'What do I do?'."

It was the right call.

Four months later she was debuting for the Matildas against the Republic of Ireland at 19.

And a year after that decision, the young defender was putting together 90-minute performances for the national team.

It was May 2022 and Ellie Carpenter had succumbed to an ACL injury during the Champions League final with Lyon.

Grant, who was a new face and had only played five games for Australia amounting to 179 minutes in the green and gold, suddenly was in the starting XI each game.

"It's been a crazy two years," she admits.

"I do love pressure. It just pushes you to work harder and having different challenges makes you focus on different things and get better.

"And I love being able to get one day better."

'One day better' has been a mentality that has worked its way into the Matildas' vocabulary since their Swedish coach Tony Gustavsson joined the ranks.

It's a saying he lives by and instils in the squad, and one Grant has grabbed with both hands in her pursuit to sharpen up every area of her game.

"I have had meetings with the coaches on little things I can get better at," she said.

"So usually 15 minutes after every training, I'm either on the wall passing or practising my left or right foot crosses, or even scoring goals - even though I don't get in those situations much - just practising little things like that because just 15 minutes of extra things can go a long way."

After Australia's 2-0 win over England, a game in which Grant scored her debut international goal, she caught the attention of clubs outside of Sweden.

Her 'one day better' mentality, the extra practice, and her abstinence from alcohol have piqued the interest of several "different clubs" ahead of the World Cup.

But for now, the young defender - who always has a smile on her face - is focused on France, and then Ireland, Nigeria and Canada.

Originally published for Optus Sport on July 11, 2023