New Zealand women's soccer legend Maia Jackman boasts a footballing CV to die for. Of all the honours she has earned and recognition she has been afforded throughout her illustrious career, though, one achievement stands out above them all - the first New Zealand female footballer, and only the second Kiwi in history, to be named in a FIFA World All Stars squad. Being mentioned in the same breath as such legends of the women's game as Kristine Lilly, Birgit Prinz and Marta was beyond the wildest dreams of the thirty-one-year-old. But when the FIFA Women's World All Stars squad took to the field in Wuhan to play China in late March, in the prelude to the draw for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, the Whangarei native proudly took her place alongside her more illustrious team-mates for what will always be one of the greatest highlights of her career. Of which there have been plenty to date. Captaining her country against China in February, 2004, for one. Taking up a professional contract with Dalian Shide in the 2002 Chinese Women's Super League is another. And being the only player in the history of New Zealand soccer to achieve the rarely realised world footballing feat of scoring hat-tricks in three consecutive full internationals, a milestone recorded during the 2003 Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying tournament … little wonder her peers hold her in such high regard. But their respect and admiration is not confined to her on-field achievements, nor her impressive athleticism - she is one of the fittest players in the game. The only player to twice be named MVP in New Zealand women's soccer's national cup final prior to its 2007 version, Jackman thinks nothing of giving something back to the community in her spare time. Presenting the prizes at school prize-givings, or making the odd hospital visit to brighten the day of a few patients are a couple of the things she does with the minimum of fuss and fanfare away from the football fields on which this role model has carved her reputation. Spotted by former All Whites coach Kevin Fallon at a Centres of Excellence course he was conducting in Northland in the early 1990s - he thought she was a boy!, Jackman's family took the plunge and moved south to Auckland in 1992, the betterment of Maia's footballing career the prime reason behind their decision to up sticks. Within eighteen months, the future Small Whites ambassador was making her debut for New Zealand, as an eighteen-year-old substitute against Canada in New York. Even here, Jackman broke the mould. She was sporting the silver fern over her heart before she had played for Auckland's standard-setting “A Team”, and long-term injury meant a further two years would pass before she first donned the famous blue-and-white colours of her province. Club and representative honours, not to mention goals galore, followed, as the jet-heeled Jackman carved herself a niche in, primarily, a right-sided midfield role. Such are her strengths and versatility, however, that stints as a striker and, in the last couple of seasons, a central defender and, most recently, a fullback, have made her an invaluable

photo courtesy Fotosport member of any squad in which she has been named, level regardless. The five-time finalist for New Zealand's International Women's Footballer of the Year award - the one individual honour in the game she has yet to win, Jackman intends to retire from the international stage in 2008, but not before ensuring two highly significant additions are entered on her glittering CV. Playing in both the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals and the 2008 Olympic Women's Football Tournament are the twin ambitions which drive Maia Jackman on as she embarks on the final stages of her illustrious footballing career. The latter event would have been a fitting stage on which a genuine New Zealand women's soccer legend deserves to take her final bow in international football, but it was not to be. Undeniably hurt by her omission, Maia opted not to take the easy option of retirement, but instead fought her way back into the national team, and ticked off another milestone when making her long-overdue 50th appearance for her country in the 2010 OFC Women's World Cup qualifying semi-final. Sadly, she missed out on NZ's Germany 2011 squad, but continued to train and play on in the hope that she would fulfil her Olympic ambitions in 2012. An ACL injury, suffered in her first club game of that season, put paid to those hopes, however, and prompted this giant totara of NZ women's football to bring down the curtain on what has been a quite fabulous career, one which was recognised in the 2013 New Year's Honours list by the awarding of a New Zealand Order of Merit to Maia Gisele Jackman, for services to football. Further recognition of Maia's achievements in the game came in the form of the MVP award for the  National Women's Knockout Cup Final. It has been renamed The Maia Jackman Trophy in her honour. After a brief spell working alongside the game she loves, Maia is now heavily involved in football again, having been appointed NZ Football's Women's Development Manager in April 2014.