Australia’s Matildas: Their 50-year ‘overnight success’ and what it means for the Australian sporting landscape

Saturday, 16 March 2024
10:30 am 11:30 am

Darley Smith Building 1 Darley Road Manly, NSW, 2095 Australia (map)

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In 2023, Australia’s love affair with the Matildas, the women’s national football (soccer) team reached the stratosphere with their performances at the World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. For many fans, it was their first taste of the skill and authenticity of the team, but the Matildas have been around for almost 50 years, women have been playing the game for one hundred years, and today’s Matildas are emblematic of the battles fought, lost, and now increasingly won, by women’s sporting teams.

We hear from four experts about the history and impact of the Matildas on re-shaping women’s sport, and the all-important battle for hearts and minds, as well as for government, corporate and media support.

In conversation with Amanda Shalala.

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Fiona Crawford (Fred) is a writer, editor, and researcher whose work spans social and environmental issues, the arts, and football.

Greg Downes is an academic with Southern Cross University who became aware of the many injustices and discriminations faced by young girls and women in their pursuit of playing football (soccer) when his daughter was a junior player.

Hunter Fujak is a Lecturer in Sports Management at Deakin University in Melbourne. His PhD explored sports consumer behaviour, specifically in understanding consumption patterns within Australia’s crowded sports marketplace.

Andrew Howe grew up in Sydney where his first sporting passion was for the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team and his academic ability was for statistics and history.