IN complete remission after successfully battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, W-League legend Rebekah Stott is set to return to the game as she signs on with Melbourne City ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.
City’s equal-leading appearance maker took a one-season hiatus from football after her Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis in February, 2021, cutting short her stint at FA Women’s Super League side Brighton and Hove Albion to begin treatment in Australia.
Stott’s bravery and optimism was put on show for the world to see as she called on the football community for support in her battle to ‘beat it’. The four-time W-League Champion became a figure of inspiration in late March as she took part in the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave, raising $38,900 for the charity to help fund future cancer research.
As the W-League and A-League campaigns rolled on in 2020/21, Stott set off on a four-month battle through chemotherapy. Nearly one third of the way through treatment, Stott said that despite all the challenges that had presented to her in that time, one thing remained: her unrelenting will to ‘beat it’.
In mid-July came a happy milestone: Stott’s return to football. A late stint off the bench for FC Bulleen Lions in Victoria’s NPLW. In the eight precious minutes of game time provided by best friend and coach Caitlin Friend, Stott was unable to wipe the smile off her face – and neither could all who watched on.
Been commentating @stotty_13's games for 11 years…long may that continue. Welcome back to the field, congratulations on another milestone ticked off. https://t.co/lay73AX2rt
Thanks @NMSMediaAU & @FCBulleenLions for the footage pic.twitter.com/9W5ounniuy
— Teo Pellizzeri (@teopellizzeri) July 13, 2021
Soon after, the Tokyo 2020 Women’s Football Tournament kicked off in Japan. Stott, an integral member of the New Zealand squad, remained in Australia with an appointment booked to discover the outcome of her treatment on the same day her international side met with the Matildas – an Australian outfit filled with former W-League teammates, rivals and friends.
The two teams prepared to collide at Ajinomoto Stadium, and Stott prepared to hear a momentous update, for better or worse.
The Matildas won 2-1. Stott was told she was in complete remission.
Fast-forward to August 19, and the conclusion of the Olympics has turned attention to the highly-anticipated 2021/22 W-League campaign. After months spent focussed on an end date of chemotherapy and that all-important goal of remission, Stott can mark another date in her calendar:
November 13 – a new beginning in City blue.
Beat it by Stotty – read more on the inspirational story of a W-League legend
