Two Indigenous stars to represent Team World against the USA’s best in women’s American Football

NTI Published April 28, 2026

Ohio’s 23,000 seat Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium is a long way from local grounds in Magandjin/Brisbane, and a long time coming, for Grace Power and Tee Sinapati.

In July, the two First Nations women will run out alongside the best from around the globe for Team World to face the US’ Women’s Football Alliance All-Pro team.

Both came to the American code for the first time just over a decade ago, with their own journeys to the occasion in Canton. The game is hosted in the lead up to the sport’s Hall of Fame ceremony.

Millions are expected to tune to the World Championship game between those in the stands and watching at home.

Power’s not a stranger to heading overseas to play, having represented the Australian national side, the Outback. This time the former wide-receiver is jumping on the plane as a quarterback in the squad.

In 2014, Sinapati, now 35, had to re-learn how to walk after suffering two strokes. This will be her first international trip to play the sport — she’s already a Queensland state representative.

She was recently honoured as defensive player of the year at the American Football Queensland awards.

Originally from the small community of St George, Sinapati met Power, from Bowen in Far North Queensland, in the Toowoomba before becoming teammates at the city’s Bayside Ravens.

She first trained with the Ravens over a decade ago, switching back to rugby union before returning to her new sport and running out for her first club game around 2022, having already managed selection for her state.

“I had to re-learn how to walk, talk, write. I had no balance,” Sinapati said of her early recovery period post-stroke.

It’s “massive” she is still able to play.

“Coming from St George, we don’t really have these opportunities out there. When people, like my family at home say ‘Oh my God, my niece, or my granddaughter plays for Australia … they’re blown away,” Sinapati said.

Power, 30, was the first Indigenous woman to play for the national team, in 2017, and an original Raven dating back to the club’s first female side in 2014.

In preparation for heading to Ohio, she has been training with former NFL player, Superbowl winner and Torres Strait man Jesse Williams.

“I had never played any contact sport, found out I was pretty good, and fell in love with it,” Power said.

It’s the diversity of people, opportunity to showcase different skills they can bring, and relationships made which keep bringing her back to the sport, she added.

“Also, it’s the confidence that it gives you as well, that I’ve taken a lot of stuff on the football field that I’ve learned and have been able to put it into my own personal life and personal growth.”

For Power, football has even helped her with a life-long stutter.

“(Playing) I’m so switched on, I’m so focused that I don’t even think about that speech impediment … I work in Indigenous advancement within University of Queensland, and I’m constantly speaking to groups of people, and I don’t stutter. It’s a weird thing, and I don’t know why football does that to me,” she said.

Sinapati works at Kurbingui Youth and Family Development.

There’s a shared goal amongst them for what gridiron can be, not just for themselves, but others.

“When I was in Vancouver (playing internationally) I thought ‘How did a small country girl from Brisbane, who used to get bullied for stuttering, had no confidence, find herself in an International Stadium like this?’. It’s a surreal moment … I want to chase this feeling. I want to be in these moments a lot more,” she said.

“My end goal as well is to showcase to other Indigenous women that this game is here, and to help create pathways for them to play over in the States. Because, it’s just an unreal experience that I want to share with my community.”

Sinapati says there’s plenty of interest from young people when they find out she plays gridiron.

“Young Aboriginal females, we have a lot of athleticisms. We’re sporty and we go a long way,” she said.

“Being able to say ‘Come and try gridiron’ and they want to know more, it’s awesome.”

Being able to share their culture with the mix of teammates from all over the world is another element to look forward to, Power said.

Team World features players from Costa Rica, The Netherlands, Honduras, Canada, Mexico and Columbia as well as Australia.

The WFA is calling the match “a defining moment in the globalisation of women’s tackle football, bringing together elite talent from multiple continents onto one stage”.

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio hosts the World Bowl on July 25.