Karen Araya

As a child, she played all kinds of sports with her brothers – from basketball and volleyball to football.

She was so talented that her brother’s friends once stopped letting her join their football games – not because she was a girl, but because she was too good for them.

Her younger brother, Bernardo Araya, is a professional futsal player who captains the Chilean national futsal team.

In addition to 11-a-side football, she has also represented Chile in futsal, playing at the 2015 Copa América Femenina de Futsal.

She scored Chile’s first-ever goal in an Olympic women’s football tournament, converting a penalty against Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Games (held in 2021).

Fans nicknamed her “Motorcito” (“little motor”) for her tireless engine in midfield.

She didn’t receive a pro salary until age 27. In 2018 she joined Brazil’s Audax, her first paid contract – roughly “1% of what male players earn” at the time.