There were about 100 of us on the south hill on a lazy Sunday afternoon at McKellar Park watching some of the best women footballers go round.
The weather would have appeared perfect on the ABC broadcast, but TV doesn’t show how cold the wind is up at 650m.
The afternoon started abysmally, the PA system failing horrendously as it mangled both anthems, with only the English version played of the New Zealand anthem.
This just the tip of the total snubbing the women’s game still faces.
Not many people know of the 1-0 win Australia recorded on Thursday night against New Zealand at the AIS Athletics Track, nor do they know the penalty shoot out win continues Australia’s 19 year dominance over the Football Ferns.
Not many people know the Matildas are ranked ninth in the world (as of March 22 – a new set of rankings to be released June 21).
Not many people know Tameka Butt has a contract with one of the top German clubs, that a host of Australians are playing in the NWSL in the US, playing alongside other top international players.
Not many people knew the Matildas were playing on Sunday.
The standard of football I saw at McKellar Park, the home of Canberra United W-League team and Belconnen Soccer Club, was at a consistent state of quality.
Crisp ground passing, incisive through balls, precise set piece plays, and that was all in the first 20 minutes or so.
There was nothing but quality gracing the surprisingly decent playing surface. Yet the grandeur of what was occurring was lost among the near amateurish of how it was being treated.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a long way to go, but the whole thing didn’t seem to have the full and proper attention it deserved.
And then it hit me, the Socceroos.
Okay, so they’re one game away from qualifying for a third straight World Cup. It’s been a long road and they’ve appeared to have pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
But there is a women’s national team too.
I draw comparisons to the US men’s national team and US women’s national team.
On Sunday, the US women played South Korea at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. They drew around 20,000 to their game. Tom Sermanni (does that name sound familiar? It should, because he was the last Australian women’s team manager) had them humming.
They systematically disposed of a much weaker Korean side. Nothing flashy, just went about their work in front of a great crowd.
Less than 12 hours later the Matildas won in a penalty shoot out against New Zealand in front of 2248 people at McKellar Park.
It’s a rare case, but in the US, their women’s and men’s teams are put on an equal level. And it needs to be done in Australia. There is no excuse.
We have a flourishing women’s league which has achieved stability, something the US only just achieved. Every game of the NWSL is available to be watched on YouTube.
In Australia, we get an hour of one game on a Saturday afternoon after the hour of WNBL on ABC.
We share another similarity with the US, our women’s teams are ranked higher than our men’s.
The US women are first in the world, have been for the last five years. Their men are 28th.
The Matildas are ranked ninth in the world, the Socceroos are 47th. The argument that the men are better than the women holds no weight.
Speaking to noted women’s football journalist Ann Ondong, she is all too aware of the disrespect shown to women’s football in Australia. Her disgust at what transpired on Thursday night was easy to hear.
When players are told they’re not allowed to promote themselves playing for their nation, something is not right.
Australian women’s football has never been better placed, and will only improve if nurtured the proper way, to the point where we could really give a World Cup a shake. But incidents such as those which occurred this week will do nothing to help its growth.
Get behind the Matildas, and treat them with the respect they so rightly have earned, and never let an incident like Thursday night or Sunday happen ever again.
Tizzo
Guest
Yes compared to other nations, and I also agree there needs to be greater emphasis placed on the women's game.
Milz
Guest
+1 Exactly. It's stupid for the author to compare the crowds to the US when they have 280 million people more than us.
cotts
Guest
Despite progressive thinkers like "Davo" its not always about watching the biggest or the best. It can be about personal achievement, doing your best for yourself or your team. These are things that those of us not blessed with the ability of the Michael Jordans of sport can appreciate and relate to. As for whoever markets the Matildas, what are you getting paid for? I live in Canberra and had seen nothing relating to the game.
Marc
Guest
This game was part of the Centenary of Canberra celebrations, so no chance of it being played anywhere else but Canberra.
seaseaemma
Guest
This was a match celebrating Canberra's Centenary, so couldn't have been played elsewhere. The national anthems were played although the sound system was dodgy. David Gallop attended the match.
Midfielder
Guest
Spot on the article ... was ashamed of the total lack of attention given this game ... It was quite a good game as well felt for the Sheep people as IMO they were the better side on the day... and the goal keeper OMG what a match and she was brave those dives at the feet of on coming strikers ... she won my award for the sheer guts she played with... Don't blame the Socceroos .... our media needs to grow up a lot and where was Gallop ...
Bondy
Guest
I haven't read most of the comments here but the Matildas should've played that game against the ferns as a lead into the Australia vs Iraq match tomorrow night. Both Socceroos and Matildas should be marketed together a lot more frequently than they do now too. This article should be forwarded also to F.F.A ., they could do with reading this.
sheek
Roar Guru
Gidday Geoff, This is Australia mate, where men are men & sheep are nervous. Women? What are they? Yeah, we have a long way to go in recognising the value of our women, & not just in sport. PM Julia Gillard has tried to play the anti-feminist card, but in her case she doesn't realise that it's her quality, or lack of quality as a PM that is in question, not her gender. At the most recent Olympics it was our women who held the medal board together while the men went missing in action. And you'll probably find it has happened at many Olympics. Our women deserve better across many sports. It would be a refreshing change to hail our sporting women rather than having to hear about the anti-social antics of boofhead leaguies, for example!
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
I think this is a large part of the longer term solution; parents taking their families to watch the game.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
No, it just shows how low many other countries value their female athletes
Steve
Guest
Viva La North has a pretty solid argument, to be honest: If you're good enough, then you compete. If you're not good enough, and you're given a special 'watered-down', less competitive version of the sport to play, don't whine and whinge that you are less respected than those who do it 'for real'. Cutting the gender divisions wouldn't create inequality any more than it's unequal that they don't have separate 'White and Asian' categories in the Olympic 100 metres.
thommo
Guest
remember that seinfeld episode about the bra for men "The Bro" or "The manzeer" as a way of tapping into the other 50% of the population? womens sort is alot like that and football has a massive leg up compared to other football codes in australia! what a great point of difference FFA!!? while we're at it, is there anything more sexy than a woman talk passionately abd intelligently about sport?? I would love it if mel mclauchlin was given more of an opportunity talk technical aspects rather than simply refer to harps and bozza!!
Griffo
Roar Guru
I think it is ludicrous to suggest equality with a mixed team - you would create inequality when 80% of the team would be male. What then? A 5+5 rule for outfield players? Male goalkeepers would dominate (creating equal outcry of inequality then)... ...as Asian champions the FFA has great marketing potential around the Matilda's, even if they don't have the same budget as the Socceroos.
Griffo
Roar Guru
The Matilda's were told not to mention the Thursday game at all on social media etc. but the game was not closed so anyone could still turn up and see it. I cannot imagine the sort of double message the FFA was sending to one of their own teams by that.
Kane Cassidy
Roar Guru
I've gotten out and supported the Sydney FC W-League team, they do play some pretty good football.
Davo
Guest
I'm sorry Matilda's but there are just things that men are better at and are more entertaining, its not disrespect. Take the modelling circuit for example, how many of us can name a male model?? none A female model? Sure, Miranda Kerr, Adriana Lima, Gisele Bundchen, Alessandra Ambrosio etc. Female models are also paid about 10 times more. Males will always have more exposure with football and sport, while women will always have more attention with other things such as modelling etc. Get over it.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
+1
cliffclavin
Guest
Thanks AZ - i will search it out
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I'd love the AUS Women's National Team to get bigger crowds & more media coverage, but surely a crowd of 2248 for a meaningless practice match is reasonable? You've reported the USWNT attracted around 20k for their practice match & USA has a population more than 10x the AUS population.
Matty C
Guest
Im all for gender equality but there are just some things which shouldnt be mixed. Can you imagine the uproar if Kevin Muscat's tackle on Adrian Zahra was done on Kyah Simon or Elyse Perry? Or if you switch the scenario and the male players become too reluctant to engage in a proper physical challenge with their female counterparts and a game resembles shadow play that you see at training? Okay so they may be extreme examples but its not out of the question. Dont get me wrong there are some of the Matildas players who are more technically gifted then their male colleagues but i think the best way to go about it is to promote the Womens game as its own entity. As a few other roarers have mentioned, if people dont want to watch them play you cant force them, but maybe now the A-league has a bit more stability we will see the FFA throw some weight behind the W-League and generate a bit more interest in what is truly a fantastic product.