University of Western Australia
Tanya Oxtoby (BA '09) has achieved remarkable success in both football and coaching. A UWA alumna, Ms Oxtoby has played for Perth Glory, Doncaster Belles, and the England national team, has also won three FA Cup titles and two Women’s Super League (WSL) titles.
Currently the Northern Ireland women's coach, Ms Oxtoby began her journey in the remote country town of Wickham, in North-West WA.
“I was enthusiastic about every sport there was to play and fell in love with football when I moved from primary school to high school, and started playing with my brother in his team, which was coached by my dad,” Ms Oxtoby said.
After moving to Perth, Ms Oxtoby eventually went on to become the inaugural captain of Perth Glory, the first professional women's football team in Australia.
"I moved to Perth to pursue my football dream, and I was lucky enough to be part of the first Perth Glory team,” Ms Oxtoby said.
“It was an amazing experience to play in front of our home crowd and to be part of the history of women's football in Australia."
With a concurrent passion for education, Ms Oxtoby chose to study at UWA because she enrolled in the School of Indigenous Studies’ (SIS) Aboriginal Orientation Course, which helped her prepare for her undergraduate degree.
Initially starting an undergraduate course in human movement, Ms Oxtoby later switched to a Bachelor of Arts degree after taking a unit in psychology and discovering that was her true interest.
"UWA was very supportive of me as an Indigenous student, and they gave me the opportunity to study what I loved,” Ms Oxtoby said.
During her time at UWA, Ms Oxtoby had to balance her sporting career with studying, which taught her to have exceptional time management and communication skills. She also had to work to support herself and relied on the support of the School of Indigenous Studies staff throughout her degree.
"It was challenging to juggle studying, playing football, and working, but I learned to be organised and to ask for help when I needed it," Ms Oxtoby said.
After graduating from UWA, Ms Oxtoby moved to the UK to finish her playing career at Doncaster Belles, one of the oldest and most successful women's football clubs in the country. She then moved into coaching and has since worked with some of the best teams and players in the world, coaching at Chelsea, Bristol and Birmingham.
Image credit: Paul Grover
Ms Oxtoby has been involved in some of the most prestigious and exciting events in football, such as the FA Cup, the Champions League, and the World Cup. She reached the Champions League semi-final as a coach and was a pundit for Optus Sport at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia, where she saw the huge fan base for women’s football.
"Being involved in these events was surreal,” Ms Oxtoby said.
“Winning the FA Cup was a dream come true and playing at the Camp Nou v Barcelona in front of 76,000 fans was unbelievable.
“The World Cup was an amazing experience, and it showed how far women's sport has come in Australia," Ms Oxtoby said.
While Ms Oxtoby has achieved many remarkable successes in her career, her best achievement she says, is having her son, who is her world and gives her perspective every day.
"My son is my everything, and he makes me happy every day. He inspires me to be a better person and a better coach, and he helps me balance my life," Ms Oxtoby said.