A self-confessed tomboy, Salisbury started in the under-7s with the Lambton Jaffas and went on to become Australia’s finest female player.

A pioneer, she holds the record for most national-team caps with 151, was the all-time leading scorer until recently with 38 goals, led the Matildas to two Olympic games and played at four World Cups.

Now, eight years after hanging up the boots, Salisbury is about to receive, perhaps, her greatest accolade.

The 43-year-old has been awarded the Alex Tobin Medal, which is presented by the Professional Footballers Australia and is regarded as the highest individual honour in the Australian game.

Fittingly, Salisbury will receive the medal at the PFA’s Players Awards to be held at Merewether Surfhouse on September 17, two days before the Matildas take on Brazil at McDonald Jones Stadium.

 “After being out of the sport for almost 10 years, to be recognised by the players – your peers – is a phenomenal thing,” Salisbury said. 

Significantly, Salisbury is the first women recipient since the medal was established in 2008 and joins her childhood hero Craig Johnston on an honour board that includes Johnny Warren, Mark Viduka, Joe Marston, Frank Farina, Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell.

“To be the first female is a pretty big thing,” Salisbury said. “There is a lot of stuff in the media at the moment about the inequalities in women’s sport. To be the first female, while it is a privilege, it should have happened a long time ago. Why hasn’t a woman been up there? I’m very proud that I can be the first. I fought for a long time in my career to have equality. It is nice to see that it is starting to come, but we still have a long way to go though.”

“For young girls these days, to be able to see the Matildas on TV and to host a team like Brazil in Newcastle is fantastic,” Salisbury said.  “It gives girls something to aspire to. My hero was Craig Johnston because I didn’t know girls played soccer. I didn’t have great aspirations to play for the Matildas. We weren’t called the Matildas back then. I didn’t even know that there was a senior national women’s team.”

The Tobin Medal, which is different to the Fox Sports A-League player of the year award with the same name, recognises elite footballers who have demonstrated leadership, commitment to their fellow professionals and dedication.

“Cheryl’s dedication and sacrifice, at a time when women’s football wasn’t given the respect it deserves, has left an immeasurable impact on the game and its players,” PFA president Alex Wilkinson said. “Her journey from Lambton juniors in Newcastle to representing Australia more times than any other player – male or female – is absolutely deserving of recognition alongside the other great feats of our game’s most outstanding contributors.”

Women’s football, in particular career pathways, has grown immeasurably since Salisbury started.

“Growing up as a kid there wasn’t women’s football,” she said. “It didn’t matter that I was a boy or a girl, I loved the sport and wanted to play. To play seniors for the Jaffas, that was just normal. I grew up with the boys and if I was good enough to play, I started the game. If I wasn’t good enough, I sat on the bench.”

Salisbury, whose involvement now is watching son Nate play under-7s for Wallsend, is proud that she has helped drive change in the women’s game.

“Girls have contracts now and have some stability,” she said. “In terms of the effort put into the game and how much they stop their life to do what they love, I don’t think the commitment is any different to the men. It is probably a greater commitment because they have to do it while working full time or raising a family or having a career to support themselves. In a way the girls have to work harder to get their dreams to come true.”