[1] McCafferty was born in Coatbridge on 16 April 1979,[2] and grew up in the North Lanarkshire town of Cumbernauld, part of the Glasgow metropolitan area in Scotland.
After progressing through the club's ranks, she was selected for the first team at the age of fifteen, making her debut in the now-defunct British League.
[6] As well as training McCafferty began playing competitively in Denmark,[5] for the Nyborg GIF club in the country's third division.
In late 2010, British Handball reached a deal allowing the team to train at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre from the end of the season in May 2011.
The players were not fully funded, and were expected to seek outside employment, but the deal allowed the team to train and play together on a regular basis for a year prior to the 2012 Games.