WOMEN’S footballer Olivia Ashbourne wants to go to the top of the ladder, a desire powered by her unbridled “passion” for the beautiful game.

Funny enough, it was aother sport that commanded her interest at first, until fate steered her onto the football pitch. Her story is not unique by any stretch of the imagination but is nevertheless one that never grows old as it captures, in part, the journey of so many young Jamaicans chasing dreams.

Ashbourne, who had first wanted to do track and field, said she fell in love with football at primary school and never looked back. Her travels on the winding paths towards her lofty goals keep her on course to the proverbial promised land.

“I grew up in the community of Waterhouse where I attended the Tower Hill Missionary Basic School. I then graduated and went to Pembroke Hall Primary School, and this was where I was introduced to football by Coach Bjorn Folkes, plus I had an older cousin who was on the team at the time. We were the parish champions for St Andrew in the 2019 Insport Primary School Competition.

“Although I was into track and field at first, I eventually developed a love for the sport and the rest is history, as here I am playing football and I am passionate about it,” said Ashbourne, a National Under-15 player.

She said many of the best players in the history of the game made their mark from her favoured position at midfield — a role that has earned her a place in Jamaica’s women football programme.

“The reason why I chose to be a midfielder was because I have attributes of hard work and I will go the extra mile in helping my team to succeed. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match and arguably have the most possession during a game, and thus they are some of the fittest players on the pitch.

“Midfielders are often assigned the task of assisting forwards in order to create scoring chances, and for that I want to be a standout player and to be one of the best on the pitch — and this position is most fitting for me,” Ashbourne reasoned with the Jamaica Observer.

The size of midfield units on a team and their assigned roles depend on what formation is used. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders.

As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments.

Whichever one of the hats she wears in particular situations, Ashbourne relishes all.

“I play both on the right and left flanks. Midfielders are…often assigned the task of assisting forwards in order to create scoring chances. We also have to be creative, using our skills to dribble and score against opponents.

“We are expected,when we have the ball, to know how to pass the ball to attacking players, while also excelling at possession. We have to work on our defensive manoeuvres as well,” the Pembroke Hall High School student added.

Ashbourne, who plays for Reinas Academy, has already set her sights on taking her game to the international level.

“My ultimate goal is to go ‘pro’ [professional] and play for Liverpool’s women’s team. I am only 13 years old now and so it gives me plenty of time to work on games and gain as much experience as I can in order to get where I am heading.

“It will take a lot of hard work, for example training everyday, and putting in the work, and drinking lots of water and eating healthy, and staying focused — [and] that’s how I will achieve my goal,” she noted.

Ashbourne draws inspiration from icons Neymar, Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi.