Hostess Matildas calls for increased support for women’s football on the eve of the FIFA World Cup

CANBERRA, July 17 (IANS) Australian female soccer players have called on the sport’s governing bodies to invest more in the women’s game on the eve of the historic FIFA Women’s World Cup kick-off.

In a video released Monday in collaboration with Professional Footballers of Australia (PFA), the 23 members of the Matildas put pressure on FIFA to ensure equal prize money for the men’s and women’s World Cups, Xinhua reports.

Under the collective bargaining agreement with Football Australia (FA), the Matildas and Socceroos players receive the same minimum percentage of prize money for their performances in tournaments.

However, the women’s World Cup prize pool is about a quarter of that for the men’s tournament, according to the players.

“Those who came before us showed us that being Matilda meant something,” Captain Sam Kerr said in the video.

“They showed us how to fight for recognition, validation and respect.”

The video was released three days before Australia faced the Republic of Ireland in the opening match of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The tournament in Australia and New Zealand will be the first 32-team Women’s World Cup, and the first World Cup ever to be held in Oceania.

In addition to taking aim at FIFA, the players have also called on Australian football managers to build on the momentum generated by the tournament by making the Women’s A-League (Australia’s top-flight football league) competition full-time and involving more women across the board. aspects of sports.

“We invite those in positions of power across football, business and politics to come with us on our journey to make women’s football as big as it can be here and around the world,” said player Hayley Raso.

– Jans

C.S