Matildas did the nation proud but this may just be the beginning

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The Matildas ended their Olympic campaign in fourth place last night, after losing 4-3 to the USA in the Bronze medal match.

Overall, this is the best result the Matildas have achieved at the Olympics in their history, surpassing their 5th place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

In the warm up matches in the build-up to the tournament under new coach Tony Gustavsson, the Matildas were shaky to say the least.

A 5-2 loss to Germany, followed by a 5-0 loss to the Netherlands, led to many questioning the resolve of the team before kicking a ball at the Olympic Games.

Gustavsson and his squad of players didn’t panic however, and when the Matildas’ Olympic campaign officially begun, they opened with a 2-1 win over New Zealand.

An entertaining 4-2 loss to Sweden was followed by a gritty 0-0 draw with the USA which allowed the Australian side to progress to a quarter final match up against Great Britain.

A 4-3 victory over Great Britain in the quarter final, in a game which showcased their ‘never say die’ attitude was the clear high point of the tournament for the Matildas.

Australians in their droves tuned into to every Matildas match, with their eventual 1-0 loss to Sweden in the semi final watched by an average audience of over 1.8 million and thousands more streaming the game on 7Plus.

Figures such as this highlight how the team has become one of Australia’s most loved sporting teams, with the country heartbroken yet proud of their efforts.

The Matildas are undoubtedly ‘box office’ but their Olympic exploits are just the beginning of a big couple of years to come for Tony Gustavsson’s side.

The team are set to compete in the 2022 Asian Cup in India in the coming months, looking to go one step better this time after losing in the final in 2018 to Japan.

The tournament in India is a chance for this group of players to win their first Asian Cup since 2010, but will also give the side more competitive tournament minutes before the big one, a home Women’s World Cup in 2023.

The Women’s World Cup in 2023 will be the biggest event held on Australian shores since the 2000 Olympics, and economically it will be a major boost for the country after the significant hit it has taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2019 Women’s World Cup, which was hosted by France, made an estimated $461 million GDP contribution to the host nation.

Tom Rischbieth, Football Australia’s head of commercial and events, believes the 2023 event will produce similar benefits economically.

“Yes, it will deliver amazing football matches but also substantial benefits socially and economically. We know from a tourism perspective 60,000 international visitors are predicted for the tournament equating to 600,000 bed nights and the numbers just keep growing, an estimated 5,000 jobs will also be created, it is a huge opportunity and one that we realise the benefits of,” Rischbieth said recently at a SportsPro APAC Series event.

The organisers of the tournament believe the 2023 competition is on track to sell 1.5 million tickets, which will break records for the women’s game.

“We know in France, over a million fans attended the 52 matches. And we now know that we’re going to have 64 matches in 2023. The ten stadiums that have been confirmed range from boutique to mega size, so we’re definitely on track,” Jane Fernandez, Chief Operating Officer (Australia) for the FIFA WWC 2023 said at the SportsPro event.

Football Australia have heavily focused on the legacy the tournament will have on the game here, including factors such as participation, facilities and improving region relations, but a strong Matildas outfit at the tournament is of vital importance.

With their impressive showings at the Olympic Games, fans of the Matildas should see the further development of players before the World Cup, including highly talented youngsters like Mary Fowler, Ellie Carpenter and Kyra Cooney-Cross.

With a right blend of these youngsters and world class players in their prime, there is no reason why the Matildas can’t seriously challenge to win the World Cup on home soil.

The hype around hosting the World Cup in two years’ time has not yet set in for most Australians, with many not understanding the magnitude of the event.

When the tournament does finally roll around however, the world will be watching, with many millions of Australians hoping to see our golden girls once again give them something to be proud of.

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Build a home, create a culture: How do we secure the Socceroos as global competitors?

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Image credit: FiledIMAGE / Shutterstock.com

The Socceroos kicked off their World Cup campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over Turkey. It was an important win for their tournament ambitions, but also a statement about their quality on the world stage. It is time that we built a facility to ensure this quality is nurtured, not stifled.

Otherwise, we risk falling behind.

 

One of four…

Australia’s Men’s National Team currently sits as the 23rd-ranked team in the world in the official FIFA rankings. The Matildas, meanwhile, are the 15th highest-ranked women’s team.

This year is also the sixth consecutive FIFA Men’s World Cup featuring the Socceroos, confirming their position as a regular competitor in the most prestigious tournament in world football.

So why is it, despite these undeniably positive reflections of Australia’s growth in international football, that the Socceroos are still homeless?

At the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar, Australia was one of four competing teams (a list featuring Denmark, Poland and Senegal) without a national base. In 2024, former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold described the team as “homeless” ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

But four years on from the tournament’s last edition, the situations remains the same. And the world is taking notice.

 

A letter to the PM

In April this year, FIFA reportedly wrote to Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, encouraging the construction of a permanent home for football in the country.

The letter reflects concerns within the governing body that Australia, despite being so present in international football throughout the past 25 years, may fall behind the rest of the pack.

When we look at the talent in the current squad, Australia is by no means an emerging football economy. But commercial and infrastructural limitations in the landscape mean this talent is under-appreciated.

Nevertheless, it is a nation which regularly proves it can compete – and win – on the biggest stage. This we saw only a few days ago.

Which is why the players, coaches and staff representing the nation deserve a permanent facility which reflects, nurtures and inspires talent and competition. The survival of the landscape depends on it.

 

The investment question

Investment into football – from grassroots to professional levels – continues to be at the crux of national debate on how to secure football’s future in Australia.

In a conversation between Soccerscene and Melbourne-based community club, Sunbury United FC, infrastructure and facility-sharing challenges emphasised common grievances for many grassroots clubs.

The issue, therefore, is spread across the nation’s football pyramid. And prompts an uncomfortable question about future investments:

If even the Socceroos continue to share their current base, Leichhardt Oval, with various teams across rugby league and soccer, how can we ever expect clubs further down the pyramid to avoid similar fates?

The past few years, however, have fortunately seen improved investment into the women’s game in Australia – particularly embodied by the ‘Home of the Matildas’.

The result of a $101.1 million investment by the Victorian Government in collaboration with La Trobe University and the Federal Government, the facility boasts elite training features including premium FIFA-standard pitches, multiple changing rooms, a high-performance gym, a sports science lab and more.

This was a welcome and vital boost ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup which took place in Australia. Now, ever-increasing participation and pride are synonymous with women’s football, and the numbers confirm it.

In 2023, women and girls represented 190,746 participants across social, outdoor, fustal and registered football. In 2025, this increased to 231,435. It proves that, with the arrival of purposeful investment at the top, comes the spread of a football culture across the nation.

 

Aligning practical and cultural benefits

But what would a potential facility for the Socceroos actually look like? And what are the benefits?

When considering similar projects, we can look to both Japan and England as distinct examples of how a national base for football can unite practical, social and cultural benefits.

St George’s Park – England

Built in 2012, England’s base at St George’s Park is a masterclass in using facilities to establish a centre for industry cohesion and community impact.

As a centre of excellence, St George’s Park holds 14 outdoor pitches, a fustal arena, and hosts coaching and medical courses. It welcomes 28 teams across men’s, women’s, youth and para football, representing a place of unity and alignment for the entire football community.

Furthermore, the ‘Play Like the Pride’ program offers grassroots participants and school students the chance to experience the elite facilities for a day, showing how facilities can serve to connect young players to the world of their professional idols and foster real passion for the game.

JFA J-Village – Japan

The J-Village – beyond being a state-of-the-art football training centre – shows why a home for football can positively impact the community.

After being used as a support base for the nuclear power plant accident following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the venue now holds a deeply important place in the memory of Fukishima. As a result, upon resuming full operations in 2019, the facility – and the football development within it – represented a sense of perseverance, reconstruction and unity.

And through hotels and public transportation links, the J-Village also welcomes tourists and business travellers, encouraging more people to step into the world of football in Japan.

One venue, therefore, can give rise to an essential part of a thriving football landscape: culture. A culture for participation, community outreach, and elite development.

 

Final thoughts

The focus of the summer will no doubt be how the Socceroos perform on the pitch. And with homes, offices, and public spaces brimming with enthusiastic support, the sense of national pride is irresistible.

But for all the positive sentiment currently taking hold of the nation, there will come a time when Australia’s World Cup run is over, at which point an all-important question must be asked:

How do we move forward?

We move forward by transforming buzz into an aligned vision, commitment to nurturing talent, and a desire to establish a real footballing culture across the nation.

The first step to building this culture? Building a home from which it can thrive.

The A-Leagues Final Series important status also a secret hinderance

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The Isuzu A-League finals series is a huge event in the footballing calendar, though its contribution to stagnant attendance numbers in the league is something to be said.

If the 2025/26 finals series follows similar patterns to those before it, it will gather huge traction and strong ticket sales.

It is the largest event for the domestic league, bringing in massive amounts of viewership through media and gate receipts.

Finals series from years past have shown this, with the 2024/25 final, a Melbourne derby, being sold out within 48 hours and gathering significant viewership online.

The idea of a finals series lies within the Australian sporting ethos; the other sporting codes have had this tradition for most of their existence, especially in recent history.

Football, though, is different from the rest of the sporting codes in Australia, unique even. This has historically contributed to its inability to integrate into the same supported status as other codes.

Many in the Australian footballing community, supporter groups, players, coaches, and even the new Director of Football Australia, have voiced concerns over fan numbers in the league competition.

It wouldn’t be absurd to say that maybe, though profitable now, the finals series is actually taking away from the league itself.

Consider the media image: the league winner is called the “minor premiership,” and ticket sales and viewership figures reveal a huge disparity between the two parts of the A-League.

It must be said that an alternative that could work in unison with the league and possibly increase viewership of the league itself would be a great advantage.

It would allow the league to gain more jeopardy and drama, which could build greater interest in attending league games.

One alternative is already here.

No other sporting code in Australia has both a league competition and a cup competition. Football in Australia does.

The Hahn’s Australia Cup is our equivalent to the FA Cup in England or the Copa del Rey in Spain.

These are competitions that offer a finals option in a different competition entirely. They generate huge traction while never diminishing the importance of the league and, therefore, its popularity.

These cup competitions cannot be discussed without acknowledging some obvious differences.

They don’t face the same popularity issues that football does in Australia. It’s obvious the Hahn’s Australia Cup doesn’t yet gain the traction that the finals series does.

However, for a healthy footballing environment with increasing fan numbers, it should.

The idea of elevating the Hahn’s Australia Cup and scaling back the finals series is a complex question, one that is treated like a “no-go zone” by many in the Australian footballing community, and that is understandable.

Though big changes like this might, in the end, be credible options for the future of the sport in this country.

Larger plans must be set in motion, strategies that can be worked towards and refined along the way. It is the process by which all large organisations, business models and even national governments build their strategies.

Such a shift will be scrutinised and pushed back against.

Though with further fine-tuning and smart investment in development, not to mention the introduction of promotion and relegation and the possibility of changing the footballing calendar.

It could replicate the success that these two-competition models already enjoy in other leagues.

The added importance that the premiership would gain, the reality that every game matters, could alongside other strategies entice fans to more games, increase viewership and ticket sales, and create more dedicated fan bases. It works in other nations, very well in fact.

The possibility of two teams lifting a trophy, rather than one single event defining it all, sounds like a strategy that could deliver more engagement over longer periods of time.

Maybe Australian football doesn’t need to answer this question just yet. It is complex, difficult and it would require a great deal of work, including significant investment into the game, which is another issue entirely.

Yet as low attendance numbers persist in the A-League, even alongside increased media viewership, something needs to change for football in Australia.

The rise in popularity of this game and its dedicated community deserves bold ideas and forward thinking.

Ideas like this could eventually begin to change the landscape of the beautiful game in Australia for the better.

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