Most importantly, the Matildas are now relatively well-funded after going on strike over equal pay following the 2015 Women’s World Cup, in which they became the first Australian team to win a World Cup knockout match when they defeated Brazil 1-0 in the last 16, and agreeing a historic pay deal in 2019 which sees them take an equal share of all commercial revenues. “The Matildas brand, which was one of the purposes of doing the calendar, was out there.” “Everybody wanted to get a copy of the calendar,” Reid says. The infamous nude calendar was instrumental in the Matildas’ rise too. Tony Marshall/EMPICS/PA Images/Getty Images The Matildas competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Since then, the Matildas’ profile has grown exponentially in Australia, partly because of a move to the more difficult Asian Federation, the 2000 Sydney Olympics – which led to more funding – and the rise of social media, allowing the team to “engage directly with fans and build that audience themselves,” Crawford says. “It was challenging back then for me to keep a job as it was hard to have time off when the team went away,” she tells CNN Sport. Sonia Gegenhuber, who won 75 caps for the Matildas from 1989-99, remembers working various casual jobs to financially support her playing career. “They existed in spite of the lack of resources for women’s football and it was really thanks to some women who had a love of the game, saw the potential of it, created their own teams and tournaments and just persevered,” Fiona Crawford, author of “The Matilda Effect,” tells CNN Sport. The Matildas were not always so well-known in Australia and played without the pressure that now circles around the upcoming game against Canada. “If it’s not a win, then it’s a disaster really for a host nation that’s had so much put into it and with so much expectation,” Reid says. Now the Matildas teeter on the edge of a premature group stage exit at their own World Cup, requiring a win against Canada on Monday – on paper their toughest opponent in the group – to progress to the knockout stages. A shaky 1-0 win against Ireland kicked off the Matildas’ tournament before disaster struck once more and they succumbed to a shock 3-2 defeat against Nigeria. But it hasn’t quite worked out like that.Ĭaptain, talisman and star striker Kerr suffered a calf injury before the team’s first game, ruling her out for the first two group matches. You can see it to the point where you can touch it,” Heather Reid, former director of Women’s Soccer Australia, tells CNN Sport.Īs one of the co-hosts, this year’s Women’s World Cup was supposed to be the culmination of all this change a celebration of Australia’s most beloved team. “I think the fundamental difference between then and now is the visibility of the game. Sam Kerr: the superstar carrying Australia’s hopes on her shoulders It was a Disney documentary that detailed their build-up up to this year’s tournament, offering glimpses into the players’ lives outside football: Ellie Carpenter’s rehabilitation after she suffered an ACL injury, the sacrifices Kerr makes being in a long-distance relationship with her partner, as well as Katrina Gorry’s return to the field while juggling motherhood. Twenty years previously, the Matildas were so underfunded that they posed for and sold a nude calendar to raise money to help the team prepare for a home Olympics in Sydney. She wheels away from the goal, cartwheels across the pitch and completes it with a backflip, soaking in the rapturous applause of the crowd.Īnd when a photo of a backflipping Kerr was projected onto the famous sails of the Sydney Opera House to mark successful Australia’s bid for this year’s Women’s World Cup, it confirmed that women’s soccer Down Under has been turned upside down too. The world turns upside down during Sam Kerr’s trademark goalscoring celebration.
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