Kyra Cooney-Cross

About

Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross ( KYE-rə; born 15 February 2002) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Women’s Super League club Arsenal and the Australia national team. She has previously played for Hammarby IF in the Damallsvenskan, as well as Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory in the W-League.

Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross was born on 15 February 2002 to Jessica Lee Cooney (1980–2026) and Jai Cross in Herston, Queensland, and grew up with three siblings. Their father, Cross, who works as a tiler, played soccer at semi-pro level in Queensland with Sunshine Coast and encouraged Cooney-Cross in that sport. After her parents separated, Cooney-Cross, at eight-years-old, relocated to Alice Springs with her mother and siblings, for three years before moving to Ballarat.
Usually playing with older girls and boys, at the age of 13, she started at FFV NTC (Football Federation Victoria National Training Centre) in Melbourne, and a year later trialled for the Junior Matildas.
In July 2016 Cooney-Cross was a member of Victoria’s Under-15 soccer team at the National Youth Championships for Girls, which won the tournament contested…