A new era for women's football in Australia?

SBS World News Radio: These are exciting times for women's football.

A new era for women's football in Australia?A new era for women's football in Australia?

A new era for women's football in Australia?

A new W-League pay deal has been agreed upon, and a sellout crowd watched the Matildas face Brazil in Sydney last weekend.

Also on the horizon is a greater voice for women within Football Federation Australia - a goal close to the hearts of some of the women's game's fiercest advocates.

 

In the rough-and-tumble of park football, any form of encouragement is welcome.

National team star Kyah Simon has been overseeing a group of schoolgirls playing football in a western Sydney park.

The Matildas are in town for two friendly international matches against Brazil, and the players are taking some time away from camp to show these girls a thing or two about football.

It is that kind of engagement which is underpinning the rapid growth of the women's game in Australia.

Women and girls account for around one in five footballers in the country, with well over 100,000 registered players.

Kyah Simon says linking girls with the female stars is crucial in showing them the game is not all about the boys.

"Look, that inequality's always been there, and it still is today, but it definitely is going in the right direction. Like I said, there's always room to improve. But, definitely, that opportunity there to play in all teams around the world, to be able to compete in a Champions League, play in professional leagues all over the world, have our Australian domestic W-League here, play at World Cups and Olympics, obviously they're all things that encompass being a professional footballer, whether you're male or female."

It is a shifting mentality on the pitch that is also being slowly realised in the boardroom.

Kate Gill is a retired Matilda who now advocates for the women's game through the players union, Professional Footballers Australia.

"You can't be what you can't see, and, if you don't give women the opportunity to present a voice or provide a pathway for them to do so, then things aren't going to change."

That change could be just around the corner.

Football Federation Australia has until November to democratise or risk sanction from the sport's world governing body, FIFA.

That means allowing more stakeholders more of a voice in running football, and the women's game is in line to benefit greatly.

The FFA's influential congress will be restructured, and a seat at the table is expected to go to women's football.

Kate Gill says it could be a game-changer.

"It brings a whole new dynamic to the organisation, that female perspective or that gender lens, per se. And then you're opening it up, also, to the public. Females are so ingrained in our sport, through fans, through mothers, and they need to have an accessible voice as well."

That voice seems to be striking the right chord.

Advocates are calling for more female-friendly facilities and additional resources to help W-League players find supplementary incomes during the off-season.

They want a greater share of the FFA's $56 million broadcasting-rights deal, as well as gender-specific research data for female players.

"Females have a whole different biological and physiological make-up, so why are we applying the same practices? In terms of research, where we develop our human performance, not much is done at a female level, we're going off male data. So, little tweaks around what's already common practice to be more gender-specific, I think, could go a long way."

That would complement a landmark minimum-wage deal agreed upon this month (sept 11) for players in the W-League.

Matildas forward Kyah Simon says they are all necessary steps if Australian girls are to aspire to playing for the national team.

And she says that has even more significance since Australia has bid for the 2023 Women's World Cup.

"You can have a 10 year-old girl aspire to play in that World Cup at 16 years of age, which a lot of Matildas currently did when they were 16."

 






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