The best run this women’s national soccer team has ever had in the World Cup was back in 2007, losing in the quarterfinals to Brazil. Sixteen years later, during the Matildas’ quarterfinal match against France last Saturday, the Australian match announcer made an observation around the 72nd minute.
“This is the moment we stop calling it women’s football, it’s just football,” he said, adding “this World Cup will go down in history as the moment it went mainstream.”
“There is a seismic shift happening right now,” his fellow announcer added.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed calls by state and territory leaders for a public holiday if the Matildas win the final on Aug. 20.
“This is something much more than just a sporting event,” he said in a radio interview Monday with state broadcaster ABC. “This is an inspiration to young girls in particular, but also young boys.”
Aug. 15, 202300:35
By any metric, Australia is a sports-loving nation, but soccer is not at the core — rugby and Australian rules football have always been far more popular. The country’s newfound love of women’s soccer is reminiscent of the United States in 1999, when the World Cup victory by the U.S. women’s national team — symbolized by Brandi Chastain ripping off her jersey after her winning goal — inspired national pride in the team and the sport. The U.S. women’s national team remains the only World Cup host to win the tournament.
The support for the women’s national team in Australia also contrasts with the backlash this year against the top-ranked U.S. team, which was criticized by some back home after a Round-of-16 loss.
Australia’s Seven Network, the tournament’s official broadcaster here, reported a peak audience of 7.2 million people last Saturday as Australia defeated France in a nail-biting 7-6 penalty shootout. Video of a planeload of people watching the shootout on their screens and erupting in applause at the moment of victory was widely viewed online.
The network said the quarterfinal match boasted an average of 4.17 million viewers, making it the most watched event on Australian television this year and the most watched sporting event in more than two decades.
Tonight, as the Matildas face off against England’s Lionesses, the European champions, the audience is expected to obliterate that record.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
