What a shot in the arm Hosting the World Cup is for our country, hopefully in ways bigger than just sport.  

Waking up last Friday morning to the news that Australia (and our friends across the ditch) have been awarded joint hosting rights for the Women’s Football World Cup in 2023 was a cracking way to start the day. Just to be clear, Football used to be called Soccer, so when you see that word over the next 5 paragraphs, we’re talking about the round ball game played by billions, ok?

It was Friday 24th September back in 1993 when Juan Antonio famously said “and the winner is … Siddenny” and we all went ballistic. The reaction wasn’t quite as crazy as that last week, but for some the feeling will be even better, and the next three years will see the excitement build to a level that could break down barriers and take the game to places it’s never been here in Oz.

For some (some) people in the land down under pride, arrogance and image get in the way of accepting Football as something they like, or even something that others can like without being judged. Strangely, but some things ARE really strange in Australia, in some circles you are called homosexual, weak or just weird if you say you like/follow Football – it can lead to exclusion, bullying and segregation – just for supporting the game that’s the most popular over the entire globe. Yep, disappointingly we can be a bit bizarre down here.

Whilst making comparisons between sporting issues and things like the Black Lives Matter problems can be fraught with danger, there’s no denying the power of sport, and hosting the World Cup of Football could be a catalyst for change. Maybe if we can get those who don’t/won’t accept others because they like Football (again I say, strange) to become bit less judgemental and a bit more tolerant and flexible, this may open things up in some other areas for acceptance and equality in areas that are way more important than sport. Football ranks behind other codes for popularity and support in Australia, but that may change as our media is saturated with images of and interviews with the Matilda’s players. It will lead to an increase in registrations, see more kids and adults on the fields for the eleven-a-side game in winter, and hopefully allow ‘secret’ supporters to be a little less shy about wearing their colours without fear of being judged. A home ground advantage will bring out in the absolute best in Sam Kerr and her Matilda teammates, and they’ll dare to dream about making the semi-finals or even holding the cup – the boost to women’s sport, equality and things on a larger scale will be immeasurable. 

They’ll pick one of our fabulous female Aussie artists to perform the ‘theme’ for the World Cup. Whilst Julie Anthony, Delta and our Liv have all done us proud, I’m hoping the gig will go to someone new like Courtney Barnett, Tash Sultana or even Tones and I. Aussie women’s music will get a global boost, too!

Whilst we try and keep things pretty light in this column, there’s no denying the first six months of this new decade have been a pretty sh*tty, to be blunt. Fires, floods, pandemic, isolation, unemployment, racism, ignorance, intolerance… no need to go on. We all can’t wait to see the back of 2020. Winning the rights to hold the Women’s World Cup of Football in 2023 might be low down on the list of important things, but it was a nice ray of light in a world of sludge. Like a pandemic, I’m betting that the hype will catch on, we will ALL get caught up in it, opinions will change, and we’ll be wearing Matilda’s Gold in July 2023. On a larger scale, social and equality barriers might break down as well. We can hope.

Image courtesy The Westfeild Matildas