Charisa Bossinakis
The Matildas captain Sam Kerr is calling for more funding for women’s football following the nail-biting 3-1 loss to England in the World Cup semi-final.
The forward kicked a spectacular goal in last night’s (August 16) game, easily making it one of the best moments for Australia in the tournament.
The nation rallied behind our athletes and the game smashed all-time TV ratings with 11.15 million viewers.
Kerr says this is hopefully the start of ‘something new'.
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"I can only speak for the Matildas. We need funding in our development. We need funding in our grassroots. We need funding. We need funding everywhere,” the 29-year-told ABC News.
"The comparison to other sports isn't really good enough. And hopefully, this tournament 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.
"And hopefully, I mean, it's hard to talk about now, but hopefully this is the start of something new."
Vice-captain Steph Catley echoed a similar sentiment to Kerr, saying last night’s views indicate a demand for women’s sports.
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"There's no argument now that people aren't interested. People are interested. The numbers are there. Kids are playing. People want to be watching the sport,” she told the outlet.
If we’re just looking at the tournament’s prize money, despite the significant increase in the past few years, the Women’s World Cup still offers a third of what the men compete for.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, $656 million (£330m) in prize money was up for grabs, whereas the Women’s World Cup is offering only $234.4 (£11.7m).
This means that if the Matildas actually won, they would only walk away with $6.7 million (£3.3m) after a large chunk of the prize money is distributed to federations.
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That’s barely 10 per cent of the $65 million (£32.6m) Argentina scored after snagging the winning title.
Not to mention, the Socceroos also walked away with $20 million (£10.5m) after being defeated in Round 16.
But in a bid to push for more government funding, The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has proposed $12 million (£6.2m) to boost the A-League Women following their magical run at the international tournament.
"It should be concerning to all those people that are supporting the Matildas," APL chief executive Danny Townsend told AAP.
"Because every one of those Matildas has come through the development pathway that is the A-League Women, and to compromise that pathway through a lack of funding is a concern."