Soccer has always been a passion for Bradford's Kelsey Araujo, who was recently signed to play with a soccer league in France.
Araujo is currently living in Le-Havre, France playing professional soccer after earning a soccer scholarship and signing a contract with Le Havre AC in France’s Division 2 Feminin this past July.
Born and raised in Bradford by her Portuguese family, Araujo has worked long and hard to get to where she is today.
After graduating from Holy Trinity high school in 2016, she moved to the Niagara area, where she attended the University of Niagara to study sports management. She spent a lot of time in Buffalo where her boyfriend lives and played in the FC Buffalo league. Araujo also has a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education.
While studying, she joined the Niagara University women's soccer team, although she wasn't able to play for the first year due to a torn ACL injury. She eventually went on to score 17 goals and 11 assists for the team in her 60 career games at the university.
She has played club soccer with ANB Futbol in Ontario since the age of nine and had a tryout with the Olympique Lyonnais in France in August 2014. She was one of the leading goal scorers in the inaugural season of League 1 Ontario Women's in 2016 and was named a Second Team All-Star.
Her passion for soccer started when she was just four years old, playing with her brother.
"One thing I love about soccer is that it keeps me active, and it gives me a purpose on how I want to put myself out there to the world," she said.
She says the opportunity is "a dream come true".
"Soccer is not just a passion for it is my career that I have to work for, and I am very grateful to the club that signed, and I am happy to be in this amazing country," she said.
The 22-year-old forward has won several awards throughout the years, one of them being the United Offence Women of the Year award for FC Buffalo. She wants to be successful and win games around the world for her team and for herself, and she wants to help her team get to where they were last year.
Her advice to anyone looking to pursue a soccer career?
"Keep your head up high, work hard and join soccer teams and leagues to get some experience and then go from there," she said. ‘’I wanted to thank my friends but most of all I want to thank my parents Betty and Fernando Araujo, and my brother Jordan Araujo, in supporting me and helping me reach my goals in my soccer career."
