The Women's World Cup was a resounding success for football - This is what must happen next
There’s been a lot of talk about morals in sport recently.
I’m looking at you England, who spent much of the recently-completed Ashes series claiming moments of victory and superiority where in fact there were none.
While comparisons between sporting codes and competitions can be futile at best, Australia’s historic run to the Semi Finals and eventual fourth place at their home FIFA Women’s World Cup does share a similar level of euphoria and pride despite ultimately following short of the ultimate prize.
As always, context is important and it’s worth taking a step back to fully appreciate just how legacy-defining these past few weeks have been in Australia.
The Matildas’ progression from heartbreaking group stage defeat to Nigeria, the resounding redemption against Canada, the clinical carving up of Denmark, the utter chaos of ousting France in the longest penalty shoot out in FIFA World Cup history before falling short against England, has seen saturation media coverage and interest rarely seen in this country before for any singular sporting event.
Group chats across the nation put aside their weekend NRL or AFL banter and opted to instead profess their love for the magical Mary Fowler, the dashing sight of Hayley Raso’s ribbon running up and down the wing and THAT Sam Kerr goal against England, which really felt like one of those moral victories we keep being told about.
People attended the MCG in August deep in footy season and prioritised watching a World Cup game on a screen rather the match right in front of them.
Opposition AFL coaches delayed post-match press conferences, instead collectively huddling around a phone together to watch Cortnee Vine’s stunning game-winning penalty kick against France.
The past few weeks have been truly unprecedented times in this country, as the FIFA Women’s World Cup overshadowed just about anything else going on in Australia as the Matildas captured the hearts of the nation.
But after these four weeks, what comes next for football in this country remains the million dollar question.
What the events in Qatar late last year proved and what has transpired on these shores in the last month has driven home that there’s nothing that ignites the passion of Australian sports fans like the Socceroos and Matildas at FIFA World Cups.
Speaking of money, the funding discussion and how money is distributed to various sports in Australia is about to become a national issue as Football Australia begins the lobbying process to help cash in on the legacy of this tournament.
It can no longer be good enough for Federal Sports Minister Anika Wells to shed tears of joy on the Brisbane Stadium pitch following Australia’s epic quarter final win against the French, but then not ensure that every boy and girl that wants to take up football after this World Cup has an affordable means and a spare patch of grass to do so.
It is no longer good enough for political figures from the Prime Minister down to don the green and gold scarf alongside FIFA executives, profess their love for the Matildas, yet let the funding gap continue unabated while more politically-savvy sports shoe-horn their way into the discussion.
The last month in Australia has been a triumph for women’s sport, make no mistake about that and it’s encouraging to see the $200 million funding boost announced over the weekend.
But principally, the Matildas’ success is a football triumph and it would be a crying shame if money to help fund the next generation of Matildas is directed elsewhere under the ‘women’s sport’ banner, where in reality no other sport is likely to match the level of passion and interest which has followed the Matildas’ every move in recent weeks, fresh off the Socceroos’ run in Qatar in 2022.
What Australia has never had is the prized honour of hosting a senior FIFA World Cup, let alone a national team so good that it went all the way to the semifinals and featured in seven thrilling prime time contests which have broken TV ratings records which aren’t likely to be nudged until the Brisbane 2032 Olympics roll around.
While Spain may have won the World Cup, the legacy of this World Cup will extend well beyond results on the pitch.
Considering the country’s obsession with Sam Kerr (and her calf) for the last month, people in positions of power could do a lot worse than listen to the Chelsea superstar and arguably the nation’s most important international sporting figure right now.
“I can only speak for the Matildas (but), you know, we need funding in our development, we need funding in our grassroots,” she said just minutes after Australia’s 3-1 loss to England.
“We need funding, you know, we need funding everywhere.”
Now that Australia has had a taste of what it means to host and be successful in a senior FIFA World Cup, the next steps are crucial ahead of what’s expected to be an influx of added participants at grassroots level.
A fourth-placed finish at a FIFA World Cup is only going to be harder to replicate as the world keeps funding their men’s and women’s national programs.
Not matching the added interest around the game with extra funding for grassroots and domestic football would be, quite frankly, immoral.