Two Australian male athletes have called the Queensland government’s decision to erect a bronze statue of the Matildas at Suncorp Stadium “nuts” and said people should “move on”.
After the Matildas finished fourth in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed plans to build a statue as a “lasting tribute” to the women’s team.
The statue will be based on the iconic image of the Australian national team celebrating Cortnee Vine’s penalty goal that won them the ticket to the semi-final of the tournament.
Palaszczuk said the statue would honour the Matildas’ efforts in sparking change for women’s sport in Australia and around the world.
“There are plenty (of statues) there, celebrating our male sporting champions,” the Queensland premier said.
“It’s time we celebrated women as well… you deserve your place among the greatest.”
However, the announcement sparked backlash from two male sporting greats in Australia, former Australian basketballer Andrew Bogut and tennis player Nick Kyrgios.
Bogut acknowledged the achievements of the Matildas but didn’t see the need for a bronze statue to be built at Suncorp Stadium.
“A Gold/First Place is a statue and over-the-top celebration worthy achievement,” he wrote in a tweet.
“Anything below is good, have a celebration or two, then move on.
“This goes for all sports btw (by the way). A for effort, N for No Statue.”
Kyrgios agreed with Bogut, replying to his tweet.
“Agree. Great effort! Statue for fourth is nuts but they had us all on the edge of our seats! Next time.”
There are currently six bronze statues at Suncorp Stadium immortalising sporting legends like Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer and Mal Meninga. No female athletes have a statue at the Queensland stadium.
At the Sydney Cricket Ground in NSW, only three out of 15 statues are dedicated to female athletes, including cricketer Belinda Clark and Olympic runners Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Matthews.
Cuthbert is immortalised in another statue at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Victoria, one of just two statues dedicated to female athletes out of the 16 statues at the stadium. She is joined by Olympic runner Shirley Strickland.
Palaszczuk’s decision to erect the statue of the Matildas at Suncorp Stadium comes after the record-breaking FIFA Women’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The event was the most attended women’s sport tournament in history, with more than 1.7 million tickets sold. In Australia, the semi-final between the Matildas and the English Lionesses had more than 11 million viewers, becoming the most watched TV program since the current rating system was established.
The Matildas’ performance sparked a number of changes to women’s sport in Australia, including the AFL’s decision to double the prize money for the 2023 AFLW season and the Wallaroos calling out Rugby Australia for unequal treatment and resource distribution.