Photo: RTÉ Sport / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Katie McCabe has described a smooth start to life at Chelsea after joining the club ahead of the 2026-27 WSL season, impressing on tour with a 7-0 win over Auckland FC during the pre-season camp in New Zealand.
The Republic of Ireland captain arrived roughly a week before the main squad reported back, using the time to meet coaching staff and early returnees including Naomi Girma, Ellie Carpenter and Nathalie Bjorn.
'I came in about a week earlier than everyone else, just to meet everyone — the staff and everyone at the training ground,' McCabe said. 'We had a nice little training group the first few days before everyone came back. It was good to get a little bit of a head start, I guess.'
McCabe acknowledged the scale of change involved in switching clubs but said the reception had made the transition straightforward. 'It's a lot of change — meeting new team-mates, a new coach and staff, new people around the club,' she said. 'I'm still getting to grips with things, but it's been a super welcoming environment to come into.'
The left-back identified the tour as a critical window for building relationships away from the training ground routine. 'Here, we have that time to stay together a bit longer, have dinner, go for coffees together,' she said. 'On this camp, I want to understand our game model a lot more and make connections with my team-mates on and off the pitch.'
An open training session at Eden Park also produced an unexpected reunion. McCabe was spotted in lengthy conversation with a woman and her young son in the stands after the session, which turned out to be a former club team-mate from Raheny United.
'She's lived in New Zealand for 11 years, and she was with her little boy,' McCabe said. 'It was amazing to be able to connect with her again. I think that's the beauty of sport, really. It brings you to so many places, and you can reconnect with people you've not seen in so long.'