August was a record breaking month for football in Australia as it, alongside with neighbour New Zealand, hosted the 2023 Women’s World Cup. While the glory of lifting the coveted trophy on home soil was just out of reach for the Matildas, the team was credited with driving women’s sports to new heights across the world. Their effect has clearly taken hold as the opening weekend of A-League football saw attendance records broken across the board.
It is no secret that Australia is a sporting country, rugby, cricket and Australian rules are incredibly popular, and the sporting culture runs deep within the psyche of Australians. However, football was never able to acquire that same attraction as other sports.
That all changed this summer.
The Matildas broke records left right and centre both for football in Australia and for women’s football on a global scale. Regularly selling out stadiums of 50,000 plus fans for a women’s football game would have been unfathomable even as recently as the 2019 world cup. The average attendance in 2019 was just above 20,000, this summer it had risen above 30,000 with over 75,000 fans turning up to watch the final between Spain and England, with millions more watching from home.
Fans of women’s football, and players in the A-League, were likely nervous to see how the legacy of the world cup unfolded after the curtains were drawn on the tournament. It was just under two months ago now that Spain were crowned champions as they defeated England 1-0.
Two months for the frenzy to die down, for fans to forget the hype that surrounded the national team. There were also concerns about the number of Australian players who became household names over the summer but play overseas in the WSL in England and NWSL in the U.S.
Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Mackenzie Arnold, Alanna Kennedy as well as fan favourite and star striker Sam Kerr all play in England’s Women’s Super League. 21-year-old Kyra Cooney Cross joined Foord and Catley at Arsenal during the summer transfer season.
These are big names that resonated with the fans during the tournament but time differences make it a real challenge to watch the players. A 4p.m kick off in the U.K. for instance would mean staying up until (or getting up at) 2 a.m. in Sydney. A difficult task and after hosting a home world cup, one that might just be asking too much of new fans.
However, after this weekend it’s safe to say those nerves can be put to rest.
This weekend saw nearly 11,500 people take to the stands for the Sydney Derby making it the biggest crowd for a domestic women’s match in the history of Australian football. These numbers were replicated across the board as over 17,000 people came out to watch the opening round of matches, easily eclipsing the previous record for a single round of matches- 15,955 — a record that was held for nine years.
Initiatives were put in place to make sure the legacy of the Matildas lived on even when some of them were thousands of miles away. The league introduced a free ticket scheme that allows children under 16 to go to an ALW game of the club of their choice. For the first time ever the women had a separate, stand-alone season opener with the men starting a week later.
It is also clear the players themselves are committed to growing the game. Fan favourite Sam Kerr, who plays up front for Chelsea in the WSL introduced her own training camp for young girls and boys wanting to play football in Australia called Sam Kerr Football. Kerr’s dedication to domestic growth serves as a reminder that she may play at Kingsmeadow and Stamford Bridge but her home ground will always be Down Under.
Although Kerr plays abroad, a number of other major players have committed to the ALW. Courtnee Vine said she fended off interest this summer but ultimately decided to stay with her club Sydney FC. The Central Coast Mariners announced the signing of striker Kyah Simon who would be joining the club upon its return to the top flight of Australian football. A number of other players including Chloe Logarzo and Lydia Williams are playing in their home league.
The A-League will certainly look to keep up the interest for the rest of the season which culminates in April but as the country moves into the summer months, there is certainly a sense of change in the air for football in Australia.
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