TWINS Rio and Steffi Hardy are encouraging any footballers who get the chance to train abroad to grab it with both hands.

The duo are currently playing professionally for Apollon Ladies FC in Cyprus.

But the sisters began their footballing careers playing mixed football for Workington Juniors before winning the County Cup for Seaton Girls and joining the Cumbrian Girls Centre for Excellence.

They then moved onto Blackburn Rovers before heading to America and then Cyprus, via Iceland.

And they would encourage anyone wanting to go and train abroad to take the leap and do it.

“If you’ve got the opportunity then absolutely do it, it will be the best four years of your life,” the pair said.

“Take it with two hands because it’s something you just cannot turn now. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Rio and Steffi made their Champions League debuts this season and have won numerous honours in the game already.

Cumberland FA caught up with the twins ahead of them heading back to training and getting back into the swing of things.

They said: “We both started playing from school at Victoria Infants School on a team but before that it was just against each other in the garden.

“We then joined Workington boys team because there wasn’t many girls teams around at that time we went on from their to play for Seaton girls and had a really good team. That’s when the Cumbria Girls Centre for Excellence started up.”

They then travelled from to Blackburn three times a week to carry on playing football at the highest level.

They added: “The girls from Blackburn played more competitively, they had grown up in that lifestyle so they knew that everything had to be dead on.”

Rio and Steffi then went on from here to America, describing it as a “brilliant experience.”

The twins also did an exercise science degree so they always have something to fall back on, but they both always think they will be involved in sport.

After graduating Rio and Steffi then flew to Iceland to start their professional career after this they tried to find a year round season which they did in Cyprus.

“Last season we played in the champions league and made our debuts and that was just an unbelievable experience,” they added.

“That has to be the greatest moment of our career so far.

“But our season got cut short because of coronavirus.”

The girls just couldn’t wait to get out on the pitch and show people what they could do.