Poletti 
Rebecca Jones is all smiles in the ParaMatildas camp at Blacktown International Sports Park. Photo: Damian Briggs/Football Australia
One of the potential ParaMatildas debutants in Kelly Stirton’s 10-player squad for the IFCPF World Cup is Rebecca Jones.
Jones, who will be representing Australia for the first time in any sport, described her selection in the squad as surreal, and her potential debut as a really special feeling, knowing that it could come in a World Cup.
“It feels like quite a privilege to be in this position, to be able to represent my country, and also I want to take one of those 10 spots and really do it proud,” Jones said.
“I get to push myself to the limit in one of those spots, and looking back on the last few years, it was only three and a half years ago that I was sitting in a hospital bed and spent most of a year in a hospital.
“I had a stroke [and] it’s been such a process to get to here and now, to be wearing this green and gold jersey and to be about to go to Spain to represent Australia, I can’t put words to it. It’s completely surreal.”
About four years ago, Jones got sick with various symptoms after getting Ross River fever from a mosquito bite, but couldn’t find a doctor who could put a name to what was happening to her, with her year in hospital filled with many tests and an illness which she described as horrific, losing every aspect of her life.
In June 2021, she was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, a condition where the immune system starts attacking brain cells, causing inflammation.
One of the treatment options is intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), which introduces healthy plasma into the body from healthy donors.
“I’m here because of plasma donors, [and] I am just so grateful for them,” Jones said.
“It was on the same day that I started getting the treatment that saved my life that I had a stroke from complications in treatment which left me with paralysis on my left side, and particularly my left leg is still affected, which is how I’ve ended up in this team after a lot of time spent re-learning how to walk, getting back into the community, [and] getting the ability run again, let alone kick a ball.”
Jones started playing football when she was four years old, and continued until she got sick, saying she loved every aspect of playing, particularly the team environment and being able to push herself.
She was also a huge rower, and has started rowing again since her recovery, which she said gave her a pathway back to football as it allowed her to build her strength back up again to get back to running.
Jones’ sense of humour has changed a bit since her hospitalisation, which she puts down to just laughing at what you can and finding the positives in it.
“You can’t change the past. You’ve got to take what you’ve [been] given, take the cards you’ve been dealt and move forward with it,” she said.
“There’s no point dwelling [on] the negatives. It’s not been an easy road, but it’s been a road where I appreciate every support I’ve gotten from my family, which has been huge, from friends that I had before and I’ve met along the way from teammates, staff, the whole wider support system has really gotten me through.
“You’ve got to laugh at things because why cry when you can laugh? Turn it into a positive when you can.”
The change in humour can be best seen when Jones talked about how she found out about the ParaMatildas, a team which has only existed since 2022.
“I guess [it was] perfect timing for me really. If I was going to have a stroke at any time, like, I wouldn’t recommend, but…,” she said with a laugh.
“After about 18 months, I was living at college at the time [having] spent about six months in a wheelchair, another six months getting back into walking, I started running again and then my friends were walking out of the college building holding a soccer ball.
“I asked them, ‘Hey, are you going to play soccer?’ and I was a bit jealous and I [also asked], ‘Do you mind if I come along and see if I can kick a ball?’ and I went out there and kicked a ball and I remember going back into my college room and I just started crying because I was so excited that I kicked a ball and I could run and I surprised myself.
“I remember calling my parents, like ‘Look, I played soccer,’ and it was amazing.”
Living in Canberra at the time, Jones then looked up if there were local teams she could join and found a CP football side and she emailed the coach Kelly Stirton, who is also the ParaMatildas coach.
Jones started attending sessions and got her first invite to a ParaMatildas camp a few months later.
“It’s awesome here in camps, being in such a supportive environment where everyone gets each other and I don’t have to feel awkward about tripping over my feet in training. I can just get back up and keep going,” Jones said.
Looking ahead to the World Cup itself, being the first time Jones is representing Australia in any sport, and not having personally come across the other teams before, she is not going into it with any expectations about what to expect, which she thinks will be beneficial to her.
“[I won’t have] any overconfidence in terms of what to expect against other teams and just having a fresh perspective on looking at going into each game with a sense of real drive and want to win and knowing that I have to put everything into this game because the outcome could be anything,” Jones said.
“I have to do everything I can to make this game go well, to even advance to the next step.”
The ParaMatildas begin their IFCPF World Cup campaign against Japan at 12:15am AEDT on Friday, November 15.
All ParaMatildas games will be broadcast live on the Football Australia YouTube channel throughout the tournament.