Editorial
Tony Gustavsson’s ‘believe’ mantra seemed naive, but now Australia is listening
When the Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson was asked a year ago whether the Australian team, after seven failed attempts, could be victorious at this year’s FIFA World Cup, his answer was typically enigmatic. Rather than highlighting the team’s athletic prowess, the Swedish coach wanted to dwell on the players’ state of mind: “When you believe, it means you can achieve something that is more than expected of a team ... If we can believe, then it’s going to be a very, very interesting World Cup.”
Putting aside the early shock loss to Nigeria, the Matildas’ convincing victories against Denmark and reigning Olympic champions Canada have put on show a team that has taken Gustavsson’s mantra to heart. There is little doubt they believe in their ability to go all the way. Interesting times, indeed.
The Matildas’ run at the World Cup has captured the imagination of Australians.Credit: Reuters
It’s an attitude and conviction that has rubbed off on the nation.
The Matildas’ World Cup journey has metamorphosed into one almost all Australians are now wholeheartedly invested in. Playing in front of packed stadiums and watched on TV by record-breaking audiences, women’s soccer in Australia is now commanding the biggest of sporting stages. It has been a long time coming.
In 1975, the first women’s soccer team to represent Australia flew to Hong Kong to compete in the inaugural Asian Federation Cup, finishing third. It has been a protracted battle for professional recognition ever since. As a yardstick of the snail-like progress, an analysis from 2008-09 found a paltry 7 per cent of sport programming on television was devoted to covering women.
Without the attention afforded by wider media coverage, women in sport have long struggled to attract the dollars afforded by sponsorship and TV rights to adequately support and reward them for their efforts. That is changing.
The emergence in recent years of professional competitions for women in cricket, rugby league, the AFL and, of course, soccer, has finally given the players the opportunity to pursue a sporting career that, while still financially well behind their male counterparts, is heading in the right direction.
For the Matildas, 2019 was a watershed year. Football Federation Australia and Professional Footballers Australia signed off on a landmark collective bargaining agreement that closed the pay gap between the Socceroos and Matildas. The new deal ensured both teams received a 24 per cent share of revenue generated by the national teams, access to a three-tiered annual salary contract of between $66,000 and $100,000, and the same access to off-field benefits, such as business-class flights and training facilities, as the Socceroos.
As a further incentive, the Matildas also secured 40 per cent of the team’s World Cup prize money for qualifying, which jumped to 50 per cent when they reached the knockout stage. A World Cup win would mean each player walking away with $402,000.
Just days before the World Cup kicked off, however, the Matildas released a video calling out FIFA for the prize money on offer. While the $232 million in prize money at this year’s expanded 32-team tournament far outweighs the $45 million shared by the 24 teams at the last World Cup in 2019, it is dwarfed by the $670 million that was handed out for the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar.
It’s not the only way the Matildas are using their growing popularity and achievements to reach financial parity. Sam Kerr is leading the way. According to the Australian Financial Review, with endorsements from the likes of Nike, Mastercard and video game developer EA Sports worth more than $2 million and her contract with British soccer club Chelsea valued at north of $600,000, her total income for last year was estimated at $3.3 million.
Kerr is an outlier, though, when it comes to earnings. Matildas star defender Ellie Carpenter is the only other player to top the million-dollar mark (she earned $1.2 million), and the rest of the team took home between $100,000 and $400,000 each last year.
While financial parity may still be a work in progress, there is one long-held belief about women’s sport that should be knocked on the head. This World Cup has proven once again that it can be just as entertaining and spectacular to watch as any male equivalent.
The crowds at stadiums across Australia and New Zealand and the millions watching at home have overwhelmingly given it the thumbs up. And for all the talk of the future and how this tournament will usher in a new era for the game, let us not forget to fully appreciate what is going on right now. In our backyard.
This World Cup will be the biggest and most successful women’s sporting event ever held. While some Melburnians can probably rightly grumble about the number of Matildas games played here, many of us have had the opportunity, at a relatively cheap price, to be a part of history. As sports writer Malcolm Knox wrote after attending a game, it was “the most exciting sporting and cultural event I have attended anywhere in years”.
On Saturday, when the Matildas run onto the field against France for a place in the semi-final, the collective nerves of the nation are sure to be on edge. May the best team win, although we are not shy, in this instance, of our absolute bias. The Matildas believe they have what it takes to win. It’s a belief we wholeheartedly share.
Patrick Elligett sends an exclusive newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive his Note from the Editor.