On the back of their greatest-ever World Cup result, the Matildas have urged for a funding increase in women’s football to develop the game and ensure Australia can compete for major titles in the future.
The Matildas captured the hearts of a nation with their gritty performances against some of the world’s best teams.
Ellie Carpenter declared after the match: “When we started this tournament, we wanted to inspire the nation. I think we’ve done that and we’ve captured more Matildas than ever.”
Katrina Gorry said: “I now truly believe we are a footballing country. I think every nation that’s been here, not just us, has felt it. I think everyone’s seen it. I think football in Australia is going to change forever now and I think that’s so special to be a part of.”
But relative to the numbers of participants in the country, football (the nation’s most-played team sport) receives significantly lower government funding than other sports.
And as other nations increase their investment into football – and women’s football in particular – Australia risks falling behind.
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Captain Sam Kerr said: “Hopefully we’ve got a few more fans that will stick around, but now it’s time for funding and all of that stuff to be invested in the game because this is the world game for a reason.”
Asked what the Matildas need to go all the way in a World Cup, she replied: “It’s hard obviously right now, but we are there, we’re right there. It’s a long-ended question, I think there’s so much. I can only speak for the Matildas. We need funding in our development, we need funding in our grassroots, we need funding everywhere.
“The comparison to other sports isn’t really good enough. Hopefully this tournament kind of changes that because that’s the legacy you leave. Not what you do on the pitch. The legacy is what you do off the pitch. It’s hard to talk about right now, but hopefully this is the start of something new.”
Leaving a legacy has been a core aspect of the team’s mission at this World Cup – hoping to inspire the next generation but also to provide them with greater opportunities to play the game.
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Coach Tony Gustavsson backed his team’s push to leave a legacy.
He said: “It’s more than 90 minutes of football. They’ve worked hard, they and the generation before have worked hard to be in this moment.
“Obviously it’s a bit emotional to sit and talk about that when you lose a semi-final. I hate to lose!
“But I’ve said it before, it’s bigger than 90 minutes of football.
“We’re very disappointed that we’ve lost, but hopefully we won something else – we won the heart and the passion for this game in this country.
“I agree with the players: this is not the end of something, this needs to be the start of something. And with that comes money as well.”
He added later: “If we see that investment that we talked about, if we keep working and growing the game together. We’re right now maximising the resources we have, whether it’s to the players or whether it’s the work we’re doing in club-land or locally, whether it’s the grassroots football.
“The return of investment in the money we have right now is unique, meaning very good, but let’s invest more and we can be contenders for medals and tournaments moving forward as well.
“This is now the second semi-final for two tournaments in a row – the Olympics and this one. But right now we’re not happy about being in a semi-final. We’re disappointed to not be in a final.”
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Former Matilda Catherine Cannuli said on Optus Sport after the match: “We’ve got to absolutely celebrate what the Matildas have achieved here.
“But I call on all the stakeholders in Australian football: lets come together and make this the norm for women’s football in Australia.”
