On 12 August 2023, the Matildas played France in the Women’s World Cup Quarter Final. Australia’s victory after a tense and dramatic penalty shootout was the most-viewed television event since Cathy Freeman’s gold medal race at the 2000 Olympics. A few days later, a new all-time viewing record of 11 million people tuned in for the England Semi Final.
The World Cup is widely hailed as a new beginning not only for women’s sport and women’s football in Australia, but for football generally. By the end of the tournament, total attendances had reached almost two million and global television audiences will surpass two billion.
The morning after the night before
The day after the France game, on 13 August 2023, the reigning champions of the A-League, Central Coast Mariners, played the most successful club in the history of the competition, Sydney FC, in the Australia Cup. The game was held at WIN Stadium, the home ground of Wollongong Wolves FC. The Illawarra club claims a catchment area of 500,000 and has attempted to join the A-League several times, including in 2009 when Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury were accepted into the top league. Neither of those clubs still exists.
Wollongong should be a good football territory. When Danny Townsend, CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) which runs the A-League, was recently asked about the planned expansion of teams in 2024, he said:
“Obviously, Wollongong have been banging on the door for a while now.”
WIN Stadium has a capacity of 23,000, but the only green or gold evident the day after the Matildas’ record-breaking success was the empty grass on three sides of the stadium. The attendance was 2,540, the lowest number at WIN since 2,502 turned out for an A-League game between Wellington and Western Sydney Wanderers in December 2022. Two weeks before the Australia Cup game, 15,000 people watched an NRL game between the Dragons and the Sea Eagles.
The dawn of a new beginning for Australian professional football leagues? Where were the thousands of kids enthralled by the Matildas, suddenly captured by football and desperate to see more live action? They were at home posting to Instagram and TikTok on how much they love Sam Kerr and Mackenzie Arnold and the other Matildas. They were dreaming of becoming a Matilda but showed no interest in going to the best local football Australia can offer.
Australia is a ‘footballing nation’ when national pride and a winning team kicks in, or when Barcelona or Manchester United or Liverpool visit these shores, but not in big numbers when it comes to watching the local professional leagues. The media can barely find the space to report the scores.
The bright side and jumping on the bandwagon
Journalists and commentators caught up in the wonderful achievements of the Matildas were desperate for a headline to show their enthusiasm was greater than everyone else. Even The Australian Financial Review felt obliged to cover the event, with “How women saved Australian soccer”. The Sydney Morning Herald headline was “OMG, what a rush: The Matildas have made even nihilists believe.” Sports editors covered the game for the first time but revealed their true colours when they breathlessly wrote about Australia ‘kicking’ a goal. In football, goals are ‘scored’ not kicked.
Let’s look at some major positives first:
1. Participation
Football has never had a problem with participation. The Australian Sports Commission's official survey has long confirmed football is the most popular sport to play with 1.2 million participants, followed by golf (740,000), Aussie Rules (700,000) and tennis (650,000). Rugby league and rugby union are far behind.
Junior football clubs report that enquiry levels in the last month are up significantly, from both boys and girls, and the major headache now will not be lack of interest in playing football, but funding and finding the fields, facilities and referees to accommodate the demand. A recent Government promise to inject $200 million into women’s sport will help but it is not specifically for football, and will not go far spread across the country and many sports.
2. Matildas brand and support
The value of the Matildas brand has risen multiple times. They showed that women’s sport can attract immense crowds that are friendlier, welcoming and inclusive. The biggest problem at Stadium Australia was the long queues at the women’s toilets as the designers did not anticipate the rise in female demand.
In analysing the impact on the A-League, this article does not for one moment diminish what a wonderful event Australia staged, proving again that the country does big sport as well as anyone.
3. Attendance at A-League Women
All kids under the age of 16 can attend Liberty A-League (Women) games for free, as can anyone with a season ticket to the Men. Sydney FC women’s team is the current Champions and Premiers, and Courtnee Vine, the Matildas' penalty hero, plays on the right wing.
During the World Cup, Sydney FC announced it had broken the club’s A-League Women’s membership record two months ahead of the new season. While the club did not reveal the number, it is targeting 1,000 members.
So while the women’s competition should receive a good boost, it is from a very low base. The average attendance in 2022/2023 was 1,249 and although a healthy 9,519 attended the Grand Final, a month earlier, only 201 turned up to watch Western Sydney Wanderers, a club that should have one of the larger fan bases in the league.
What about the main game in town, A-League Men?
The new A-League season commences on 20 October 2023, two months after the conclusion of the Women’s World Cup.
How many new fans among the millions of Australians who watched football for the first time, who claim to finally ‘get it’, or the avid followers of the global game who have scorned the local version, will attend the opening game due to the Matildas' experience? My guess is not many.
As the chart below shows, the average attendance at the A-League last season was less than 8,000. Sydney FC is far ahead of all others with almost 17,000, boosted by a return to the $1 billion Allianz Stadium but not matching the levels of a decade ago. Previous high-flyers Western Sydney Wanderers, whose success at filling the 20,000-seat Parramatta Stadium in the early days led to the reconstruction of the ground to hold 30,000, now average only 12,000. The move from the old stadium was a disaster for the club compared with the excitement of the first few years. The previous best-attended club, Melbourne Victory, is a shadow of its former self at 10,000 last year and heaven knows why Macarthur and Western United owners campaigned so aggressively for entry to the A-League in 2020/2021. At 3,000 each, they have failed to attract a following, despite Western United being Champions in 2022.
Total and Average Attendances, A-League Men, Season 2022/2023
Source: Ultimate A-League
The highest-profile Australian coach in the world is Ange Postecoglou, previously in charge of the Socceroos and Celtic and now at Tottenham Hotspur. There are few people more knowledgeable about Australian and global football. When asked whether football will finally “crack it in Australia” (SMH 21 August 2023), he replied:
“I battle with that, mate. I really don’t know if we will ever crack Australia. I hope so.”
Earlier, Postecoglou had reflected on his success with Australia in the Asian Cup in 2015:
“Where it is right now, it’s where it’s been many times. It’s what happens from now on ... we won the Asian Cup and barely a ripple.”
Sport in three: participation, commercial and jingoistic
Similarly, Colin Carter was a Commissioner with the AFL and a major factor in its modern success. He gives an informed perspective. He says:
“What the Matildas did was fantastic, but it’s unlikely to translate into all the things that people are imagining it will. That idea is grossly exaggerated ... People don’t watch second best in anything. On television, you can always see the best in the world.”
Carter divides sports into three: participation, commercial and jingoistic. He sees the Matildas and this World Cup in the last category of teams or events that create a short term but intense patriotic pride, without leaving a lasting legacy for their sport. The players will go back to their clubs, nearly all overseas, leaving behind fond memories and struggling A-League competitions, both men and women. As Carter points out, the best football in Europe attracts a big Australian following and that is part of the problem. In football, Australian players will always leave, unlike in Aussie Rules or Rugby League.
Unlike other sports, football in Australia is run by multiple bodies, and the fragmentation is part of the problem. There is no unified voice. The governing body for the Matildas and the Socceroos is Football Australia. APL represents the club owners and organises the A-Leagues. State competitions are managed by powerful state bodies.
It’s the commercial side of the local professional league based on attendance, broadcast views and overall sponsorship that is the ongoing failing. Media coverage is poor in all major newspapers, and radio and television stations, even after a full weekend of good games. Long-time backers of the A-League, Hyundai, NAB and Caltex, all failed to renew their contracts recently. Foxtel abandoned its coverage, Optus was not interested and a below-standard coverage is available on Paramount Plus.
Tony Sage, long-time owner of Perth Glory, has finally given up after injecting millions into the club over 18 years. He put out this scathing media release when announcing he would no longer finance the club. Newcastle Jets is looking for a new owner as it is currently in the hands of other clubs. Brisbane Roar owners want out. I doubt Tony Sage is looking at the success of the Matildas and regretting his exit.
Others are more optimistic. David Rowe, a Professor at Western Sydney University with special interest in sport and society, says:
“I’m a bit cautious, we’ve seen a few false dawns in the past. But on reflection, I actually do think this is a watershed moment. I don’t think there’s any going back from here. Quite how big the leap will be we still don’t know, but it’s substantial both for football and for women’s sport in general.”
The Matildas, yes. Women's sport, yes. Participation, yes. Better media coverage and attendance at the A-League, highly unlikely.
There is a lot of enthusiastic talk about how football has united a migrant nation, how it brings in shared cultures from different global backgrounds, and how boys and fathers will now understand that women can play competitive football in a superior spirt to the men. Fair enough, but will they now go to a game?
There have been too many false dawns to list for the local professional league, but let’s mention one: the recent men’s World Cup. Australia qualified for the knockout stage by defeating Denmark and Tunisia. The Socceroos pushed the eventual winners, Argentina, all the way in a 2-1 loss. Like the Matildas, it was a time of national pride and football authorities hoped it would herald a new era of local interest.
Then came the disaster of the pitch invasion at Melbourne Victory and the assault on a goalkeeper, but even before that, there was little evidence of larger crowds, including when many Socceroos featured in the Sydney FC versus Melbourne City game. In fact, Melbourne City has been the best club in the league over the last three years and averages only 8,000 fans.
The APL and the clubs will work hard to attract more fans on 20 October 2023, although much of the joy of community and winning as one will have evaporated. Courtnee Vine has signed for another domestic season, and will feature as the face of the women’s competition this year. But nobody need worry whether they will be able to buy a ticket.
A final word from Tony Gustavsson, the Matilda’s Swedish coach:
“It’s easy now when the spotlight is on all of us, but what about a week or 10 days from now? What are we doing to keep this going? To stay in this. And what are you guys (journalists) doing in a month from now or six months from now or a year from now to keep making sure the spotlight is on women’s football and investment keeps happening?”
Exactly. Regardless of how much we loved the World Cup, most people will move on to the next bright thing the media focusses on.
Graham Hand is Editor-at-Large for Firstlinks. He is a Foundation Member of Sydney FC, a season ticket holder for 19 years and rarely misses a home game. He would love to see more people at games, but don't try to sit in the seat he always occupies. Graham plays in an Over-60s football competition and has attended three men's World Cups in Germany (2006), South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014).