Matildas kick on to grassroots funding goal
Matildas captain Sam Kerr has urged Australia to invest more money in grassroots football as the team’s heartbreaking loss to England at the FIFA Women’s World Cup shattereda two-decade long television ratings record.
Politicians, athletes and business executives were gushing over the national women’s football team on Thursday, praising the skill and fair play of their three-week World Cup campaign.
“You’ve shown incredible skill, ferocity and flair, and a camaraderie that defines what it means to play team sport,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday night.
But Kerr directed the conversation post-match to future funding of women’s football, arguing legacy rather than the team’s on-field success would help the sport grow.
Coach Tony Gustavsson and captain Sam Kerr react to the Matildas’ loss. AP
“I can only speak for the Matildas but… we need funding in our development, we need funding in our grassroots. We need funding,” Kerr said. ”Hopefully, this tournament… changes that, because that’s the legacy you leave, not what you do on the pitch.”
More than 7 million Australians tuned in to free-to-air TV to watch the Matildas’ semi-final clash against the England Lionesses, a figure that does not include the hundreds of thousands of people watching through Optus Sport, stadiums, pubs and live sites across the country.
It was the largest average audience recorded since measurement provider OzTAM launched in 2001, but it wasn’t the only record the Matildas smashed. The team attracted the largest crowd for a women’s sports match – 75,784 – and sold more than 60,000 jerseys at Rebel Sports stores.
Super Retail Group chief executive Anthony Heraghty, whose team decided 18 months ago to buy more jerseys than any other
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