- Adelaide-born Grant, 23, has played 27 games for her country
- First debuted her romance on social media in August 2023
Matildas stars including Sam Kerr and Steph Catley have rushed to congratulate their teammate Charli Grant after she announced her engagement in a heartwarming Instagram post.
The 23-year-old revealed she said yes when her partner Lachlan Cameron went down on bended knee to propose in front of a romantic set-up that included red roses, heart-shaped balloons and lights that spelled out ‘marry me’.
Grant simply captioned the post ‘22.12.24’ with a heart and wedding ring emoji – and her fellow Matildas didn’t waste any time congratulating the woman they call ‘ChaCha’.
Kerr and Catley were joined by Hayley Raso, Mackenzie Arnold, Cortnee Vine, Kyah Simon, Chloe Logarzo and Emily Gielnick in reacting to the joyful news.
Grant and Cameron’s romance first went public back in August last year when she posted a photo of them both standing on Adelaide Oval with the caption ‘perfect pear’.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Cameron is the retail and merchandise licensing manager for A-League team Adelaide United after spending seven years in retail and administration for the Port Adelaide AFL club.
Grant is pictured just after saying yes when her boyfriend Lachlan Cameron proposed just before Christmas
The Matildas defender showed off her beautiful engagement ring in the post, which saw her teammates rush to congratulate her
Grant and Cameron (pictured together) were first revealed to be a couple in August 2023
A quick look at his Instagram profile shows him playing footy for the Port District Football Club in the Adelaide Footy League, which is a division one amateur competition.
Grant has made 27 appearances for the Matildas after debuting for the national team in 2021.
The defender’s career in top-flight soccer started with Adelaide United in 2018 when she was just 17 years old before she moved on to Swedish clubs Rosengård and Vittsjö.
She switched to English giants Tottenham Hotspur this year and has scored one goal from 11 games for Spurs.
Grant’s only goal for the Matildas was a stunner that helped lift the side to an upset 2-0 win over England in April 2023.
‘That was unreal. I’m so proud of the girls getting the win but to get a goal on top of that is so exciting and I’m just pumped,’ she said after the victory.
Former Tillies coach Tony Gustavsson was full of praise for the fullback afterwards.
‘Look at Charli Grant’s journey. She had zero caps when I came on board,’ said Gustavsson.
‘Since day one, when she struggled a bit at international football, which is natural because the tempo is much higher than she’s used to, she’s shown the right mindset and really represents a lot of things in this team – the grit.
‘She was put in the stands in Rosengård, not even in their game day roster, and then gets loaned out to Vittsjö, yet look at what she does now against England away – that grit and commitment, to always get one day better.
‘I’m so happy for her – and she represents a lot of what this team stands for.’
Grant’s first game for her country came against the Republic of Ireland and she was also part of the squad that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics.
Former Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said the grit showed by Grant (pictured) was the embodiment of what the Matildas stand for
Grant is pictured just after scoring her first goal for the Matildas during their upset 2-0 victory over England in April 2023
She was also front and centre during last year’s World Cup as the Matildas thrilled the nation.
Grant said her struggles to get game time in Sweden were a turning point in her career.
‘It made me appreciate every minute I got on the pitch and still does now. So in a way, I’m kind of grateful for not getting played there because it made me make the most of every moment and really work on the things that needed to develop my game,’ she said.
‘I think definitely my technical ability and my composure on the ball [have improved]. Technically I feel like I’ve always been a little bit behind growing up; my pace and fitness has always been my strength, so I think I’ve been able to get away with some things growing up, but here you can’t get away with those technical areas of the games.’
Grant will be in line for more action with the Matildas when they take on Japan in the SheBelievesCup on February 21, followed by matches against the USA on February 24 and Colombia three days after that.
