Remember the buzz around Australian women's football in August 2023? The Matildas had the whole country watching, with 11.15 million people tuning in to see them knock out France in that incredible World Cup quarter-final shootout. Even folks at Aussie rules matches stopped to celebrate.
Now Australia is hosting the 2026 AFC Asian Cup, and the stakes are huge. The semi-finalists book their tickets to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. The quarter-final losers fight it out for two more automatic spots.
The tournament kicks off today with Australia facing the Philippines at Perth Stadium. It's been 16 years since the Matildas last won this trophy, and Sam Kerr is the only player left from that 2010 squad. At 32, she's running out of chances for another major title.
"If there was a time to win it, it would be this one," says Chelsea defender Ellie Carpenter. "It's time for some silverware for this team." Japan come in as favourites with their higher FIFA ranking, but home advantage could be massive for the Matildas.
The World Cup Boost That Didn't Last
The 2023 World Cup seemed like a turning point. After the tournament, the women's A-League saw attendances jump 108 percent. TV viewership shot up 133 percent. Club memberships increased by a whopping 611 percent.
But here's the problem: it didn't stick. This season, attendances dropped 26 percent. The league is hemorrhaging talent to overseas competitions, and it's not hard to see why.
The average A-League Women salary is just over $30,000 Australian dollars (about $21,000 USD). That's the lowest minimum salary of any major Australian women's sport. A shocking 62 percent of players need second jobs just to make ends meet.
Clare Wheeler remembers earning just $500 in her first season—basically petrol money. "I was doing my HSC, working at Kmart and trying to do football," she recalls. "It was really stressful."
What This Means Going Forward
The Professional Footballers Australia union has released a stark vision for change. They want full professionalisation of the domestic league to stop the talent drain. Last season saw a 28 percent increase in minutes from players aged 21 and under—young players forced into action because experienced stars are leaving.
"We had that massive opportunity with the World Cup and we saw a little bit of growth, but there wasn't any hard platform laid down for it to continue," says PFA co-president Tameka Yallop. The comparison to New Zealand, who invested heavily in facilities and even created a new A-League club, is telling.
For bettors watching this Asian Cup, the domestic struggles add an interesting angle. Will the Matildas be as motivated knowing their league is falling behind? Or will the chance to win silverware on home soil—with 79,500 expected for the final at Sydney's Stadium Australia—push them to new heights?
The tournament prize pot is $1.8 million, unchanged from four years ago. That makes it the lowest-paying continental championship in women's football. Yet more than 150,000 tickets were sold a month before kick-off, showing Australian fans still care deeply about their national team.
Wheeler hopes this Asian Cup can reignite the passion from the World Cup. "The support during the World Cup was incredible," she says. "We really hope we garner that support for this and make everyone proud." With World Cup qualification on the line and a growing sense this might be the last chance for Kerr's generation to win major silverware, expect Australia to come out fighting.
