Last week, Australia debuted the first ever A-League All Stars Women team in a match against Arsenal FC women’s team in Melbourne.
Featuring Matildas on both sides, the match was the first of its kind, as previously only men’s international teams had made their way Down Under.
The highly anticipated event gave female A-League players a platform to display their talents on an international stage, with A-League All Stars coach Joe Montemurro hinting that international talent scouts would be watching the game.
The event comes at a record-breaking time in women’s football. Arsenal Women (home to Matildas Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross) recorded a higher average attendance than 10 male Premier League clubs this season.
Additionally, the English Women’s Super League, where 14 Matildas play, signed a historic deal last month in which the broadcasting rights for games were unbundled from the men, and valued in their own right for the first time. Across the pond, the American National Women’s Soccer League has also signed a new rights deal to the tune of a massive $240 million.
Last week’s A-League All Stars spectacle demonstrated how the women’s game has grown to become the main attraction in Australia. The event was a double header, with the Newcastle men playing the A-League All Stars Men, and Arsenal Women playing the A-League All Stars Women.
In another first, the women were scheduled to play second, in the traditionally more ‘prime’ timeslot. In a reversal of typical arrangements, the women took the field at 8pm while the men kicked off earlier at 5pm. The changes were well received: as the women took to the field in Melbourne, the crowd lit up, chanting, cheering and (sportingly) jeering, which continued throughout the game.
The trams and streets of Melbourne were also covered in red, white, and black, as fans were decked out in jerseys and merchandise from head to toe.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Matildas and Melbourne Victory star Alex Chidiac appeared to be thrilled at the prospect that crowds of such a high number could turn up for an A-League women’s game —attendance reached 42,000 on the night.
Acting Matildas captain Steph Catley said “The ceiling has been completely blown away since the World cup in Australia. It’s something I couldn’t imagine back in the day that we would be where we are now. It’s pretty special.”
The ‘Matildas’ effect can be seen across the country. Crowds for the A-League Women more than doubled this year and TV viewership was 113 per cent higher than last season.
Memberships for A-League Women’s clubs increased a whopping 611 per cent and grassroots football clubs around the country are seeing interest from thousands of new players across all age groups. Meet-and-greets for Matildas and the A-League women have seen lines over 5 hours long.
The growth of the domestic game has also led to increased international interest in players. Some ‘player of the season’ awardees such as Canberra United star Vesna Milivojević have already moved to European leagues.
Matildas and Sydney FC fans have taken to social media to share their speculations as they await news of Courtnee Vine, another player rumoured to have a lot of international interest, who is out of contract with the Sky Blues this season.
Social media engagement with the women’s game has also increased tremendously, with the Matildas’ official Instagram becoming the most followed account of any sporting team in Australia.
Fans are constantly engaging with player news, matches and upcoming events. They regularly plan meet ups and share lengthy dialogue about even the smallest whispers of news.
After Friday’s game, many fans took to social media to share their experience with the women’s game. Some admitted that they had never been to a sports game in person before, but that after the World Cup they felt like they had found a new home in women’s football and the women’s football community. Women’s football has once again demonstrated that it is here to stay, grow, include, and prosper.