It’s the premier fixture in the women’s domestic football calendar, but a casual internet search would return scant details about this Saturday night’s W-League final, amid the thousands of thunderous column inches and general vitriol engulfing the women’s game right now.
Since the shock decision nearly a month ago to sack Matildas coach Alen Stajcic, the timbre of conversation surrounding women’s football has degenerated precariously. As divisive former politicians and radio shock jocks weigh in, the outrage of old men once again deprives oxygen to the excellent achievements of talented young female athletes.
There is no question that this latest furore is one almost exclusively of Football Federation Australia’s own making, with the governing body providing neither sufficient grounds to justify Stajcic’s removal nor sufficient transparency for the wider public to place trust in the confidential processes that prompted the FFA board to arrive to such an outcome.
And while a hugely respected coach with a significant track record of achievement is entitled to demand answers and the opportunity to defend his reputation, an unwanted byproduct of this public slanging match is that the game he and many others worked so hard to build is suffering a major reputational setback.
None of which is the fault of the hardworking women of Sydney FC or Perth Glory’s W-League teams (and their staffs, of all genders). And yet a mouthwatering contest that should be receiving the pomp and buildup of a Clásico derby across Australia’s media pages, will be played out under a pall.
The brilliance of Sam Kerr is beyond dispute. Perhaps the greatest footballer Australia has ever produced could be competing for the last time in a domestic final on Australian soil. Her club, Perth Glory, have never won a W-League championship; for the unassuming 25-year-old to bring silverware to her home city could be a crowning achievement of a decade-long career in the W-League.
In fact the narratives surrounding this final are little short of amazing. Remarkably, one of these two sides has played in the last four championship deciders, and lost all four – a trend that must, by necessity, end for one team on Saturday.
More than just Kerr, for other Perth Glory players there are stories of redemption – for veterans like Kim Carroll or Shannon May who have been there in a W-League grand final before and tasted defeat. May, the first Glory player to reach 100 caps for the club, who almost gave the game away ahead of the season as she looked to balance full-time work as a primary school teacher. Or youngster Leticia McKenna, preparing for her first W-League grand final, aged 16, less than six months into her professional career.
Less than three months ago a study of Australian sports fans found the Matildas to be one of the nation’s most beloved teams. “Sport fandom is emotional,” researcher Georgie Maynard explained. “A team’s score looks beyond behavioural outcomes. It examines the very heart of the relationship between a sports property and sports fans and uncovers the drivers of emotional connection. This then enables teams to engage a larger audience and create more loyal fans.”
In plain English, Australian women football players resonate with Australian fans because of their humility as much as their hard work and raw talent.
Sixteen months ago, a record 16,829 fans packed Newcastle Stadium to watch the Matildas defeat Brazil for the third time in consecutive matches – and this just months after the women’s national team had beaten the world No 1 side, the United States, in their own back yard.
Three nights before the game in Newcastle, at Penrith Stadium a Socceroos fan with a “customised” Sam Kerr jersey provided an enduring image of the nation’s love for its female football stars. One night in November 2005 may have taken Australia back to a World Cup for the first time in 32 years, but one night in France in July 2019 could be the moment Australia win the entire thing.
Kerr’s engagement with fan Richard Cuthbert was widely acclaimed – in keeping with the down-to-earth, no-tickets-on-themselves approach of the Matildas collectively.
While the men’s game is too often dominated by big egos and Neymar-esque histrionics the shared sense of purpose in women’s football teams – often borne out of enduring collective hardships such as scant pay and historical disrespect – as well as the good-natured spirit in which the game is played continues to attract fans.
The individual flair of a Kerr or a Caitlin Foord is there for all to see – as the women’s game professionalises the individual skill level and physical attributes of players increases exponentially. And yet the playfulness and sense of fun that led Brisbane Roar to roll out their irreverent “frog-leaping wall” tactic in the W-League semi-final against Sydney FC still remains.
On Saturday one of these two clubs will win either its first or its third championship. The women who have toiled all season to make it this far deserve our respect and our acclaim. Significant off-field misjudgments may have sucked the oxygen out of media coverage for the W-League final but on-field effort and excellence will still be there and apparent for all to see.
