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We have crossed the 100-day mark in the countdown towards the 2023 Women’s World Cup to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The excitement is building, the competition ball looks stunning, the Matildas kit is impressive and the Australian squad is taking all before them under coach Tony Gustavsson, with the recent victory over the English making a significant international statement.
Numerically, it will most likely prove to be the second biggest sporting event ever held on Australian shores, with only the 2000 Summer Olympics topping the World Cup in terms of sheer dollars generated and the collective number of eyeballs glued to screens around the globe.
To say the country is excited is a considerable understatement, yet a concern that the bulk of that excitement might be emanating from so-called ‘event-goers’ and people not particularly interested in the long-term status and validity of women’s football in Australia remains a viable one.
The question of exactly what legacy the event creates on the domestic scene has been one frequently asked and one only to be answered in the fullness of time.
In essence, the key questions can be simply formed.
Will the Women’s World Cup be a defining moment for football in Australia, the women’s game specifically and provide something tangible in terms of development that aids our international teams at the highest level?
Or will it be something of an ‘event’, where middle-class Australian wealth snaps up tickets in droves and attends the matches in order to share their participation on social media platforms, before ultimately walking away from football after the tournament, seeking the next big event on the calendar?
Frankly, I fear the latter. The evidence I have to support my fear is simple, real and recent.
There were 12,850 people in attendance at Allianz Stadium to watch Sydney FC fight for a top-six position against Perth Glory on Sunday afternoon.
After a tight first half, the Sky Blues kicked away in the second and eventually earned a 4-1 win that looks to have them locked into the top six and still an outside chance for the A-League championship, despite what has been something of a hit and miss season.
The match kicked off at 3pm and soon after the local win, Sydney FC’s women’s team took to the pitch to take on Western United in a match that would decide the first team through to the A-League Women’s Grand Final.
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Sadly, very few people remained in the stadium to watch the contest and by the time United had taken a lead into the second half, even fewer had stayed the course to cheer on Sydney.
I cannot be sure of the final crowd figure, yet the exodus post the men’s match was consistent with modern trends in terms of support and also in direct opposition to the energy, excitement and ticket sales that have been features of the last few months in the lead up to the World Cup in July.
If fans in Australia’s biggest city and one containing the most consistently successful clubs on both the men’s and women’s side cannot manage to find enough people invested in the women’s team’s cause to hang around and watch a semi-final, one wonders for what exact reason the stadiums will be full when the world arrives in around three months’ time for what will be a brilliant, well-attended and globally viewed event.
Based on what we saw at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, the chasm between the folks committed and invested in the domestic game and those who have snatched up tickets for the World Cup without any intention to subsequently become engaged with the local domestic competition appears vast.
I fear it will be event-goers 101 during the World Cup. I’ll be covering it, attending the matches and fully engrossed in what will be a stunning spectacle.
Sadly, I’ll also be concerned that once the performance is complete, the show is done and the caravan exits our two wonderful countries, women’s football and the game overall will be in exactly the same disadvantaged position it was prior to the tournament.
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Plenty of people will have made a few bucks, young female players across the country will have been inspired and the chance for real change and growth will be missed.
If just a couple of thousand people in Sydney are even interested in attending a crucial semi-final between their women and the impressive Western United, the chances of the women’s game benefitting from World Cup event-goers is probably slim or none.
