Olivia Smith’s Journey From Early Sacrifices to Back-to-Back PFA Young Player Awards

Posted : 26 August 2026

Olivia Smith has continued her rapid rise in women’s football, winning the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year award for a second consecutive season. The Arsenal forward previously claimed the honour after her breakthrough campaign with Liverpool and has now repeated the achievement in her first season in north London.

Smith’s career has developed at remarkable speed. The Canadian became the first £1 million player in women’s football when Arsenal signed her from Liverpool in July 2025, breaking the previous transfer record. The deal came only a year after Liverpool had brought her to England.

Her football journey began much earlier. Smith grew up in Whitby, Canada, and was encouraged by her father to pursue the sport. She moved between clubs during her childhood and continued playing alongside boys even after joining girls’ teams. Her multicultural upbringing around Toronto also exposed her to strong Jamaican, Chilean and Peruvian football influences.

Smith also developed through sports away from football. She practiced taekwondo after experiencing bullying at school, while gymnastics helped improve her flexibility, agility and physical control. According to Smith, those experiences also taught her discipline and strengthened her ability to deal with difficult situations.

The combination of different sporting disciplines became an important part of her development. Gymnastics required demanding exercises such as splits and planks, helping Smith build the mental resilience she believes has benefited her football career. Taekwondo, meanwhile, contributed to her discipline and explosive movement.

Her football ability was evident from an early age. Smith made her senior Canada debut at just 15 years old, becoming the country's youngest senior international at the time. She later moved to Sporting CP in Portugal, where she quickly established herself before making the switch to Liverpool.

At Liverpool, Smith scored seven WSL goals in her debut English season and was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. Her performances helped convince Arsenal to make the historic investment that turned her into women’s football’s first £1 million transfer.

Smith has since justified that record fee with an impressive first campaign at Arsenal. She scored five WSL goals and recorded 14 goal involvements across all competitions during the 2025/26 season, while adapting to different attacking roles under manager Renée Slegers.

Now twice recognised by her fellow professionals as the PFA’s leading young female player, Smith’s rise reflects years of preparation, sacrifice and resilience long before she became one of the biggest names in women’s football.

Olivia Smith’s Journey From Early Sacrifices to Back-to-Back PFA Young Player Awards

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