Women's Football Returns Down Under

G’day everyone! This weekend sees the return of the A-League Women in Australia, which of course successfully co-hosted the Women’s World Cup over the summer. Football fever well and truly took over the country, with New Zealand also experiencing unprecedented interest in the sport.

I was fortunate enough to be out in Sydney for the tournament, and the atmosphere around the city was just brilliant. I remember being astonished at the 24,323 fans who attended a group match between Colombia and South Korea, at 12pm on a Wednesday. It seemed as if everyone was caught up in women’s football fever, the same which took over England during Euro 2022.

After the Lionesses became European champions, the interest in women’s football over here did not die down. The record attendance for a Women’s Super League match has been smashed a couple of times since, and TV viewership is at a record high.

Will the same happen in Australia following the Women’s World Cup? It will be a difficult task to get interest levels to reach the same height, particularly when considering England won the tournament while the Matildas reached the semi-finals. (Sorry Australia fans, but sitting in a partisan Olympic Stadium celebrating Alessia Russo’s goal was a highlight of the tournament).

It must also be remembered that general interest levels in football are higher in England than in Australia, although this arguably has made it harder for the women’s game to be accepted over on this side of the world.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the A-League Women is received this season. The early signs are positive, with teams across the league smashing records for membership sales since the Women’s World Cup. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to speak to A-League star Fiona Worts to get an idea of the situation on the ground.

The English striker joined Sydney FC, the defending A-League champions, last month. She had played for Leicester City and Coventry United in the Championship before making the move to Australia, signing for Adelaide United in 2020.

Fiona scored 18 goals in 39 appearances across three seasons for Adelaide. The 2021-22 season was a particular highlight – the 27-year-old hit 13 goals to be named the A-League Women Golden Boot winner. She also received the Julie Dolan Medal, given to the best player in the league that season.

Hi Fi! Congratulations on your move to Sydney FC. What tempted you to move from Adelaide?

I think sometimes it's just time to move on. You look at what you've done at a club and what you've got left to learn, and sometimes it's just time to do something different. I think that's where I was with my time in Adelaide.

What are your aims for the season, both as an individual and a team?

The club wants to do the double double. Back to back Championships, back to back Premierships [The winners of the regular A-League season are ‘premiers’ and the winners of the end-of-season play-off winners are ‘champions’]. I think it’s an ambitious but very doable goal.

For me, I just want to enjoy playing football and being a part of a great team. To be part of winning trophies would be amazing. But I don’t want to look too far ahead from that perspective. I want to focus on being the best footballer I can be and just enjoy the ride, and hopefully be an important part of lifting the trophies for the team at the end of the season.

The opening match of the season is a Sydney Derby at the Allianz Stadium. How excited are you to play this fixture at a big stadium, and do you think it’s important to play matches at such venues?

I think derbies are always just that little bit more exciting. They are the games in the season where there’s just that little bit more to play for. It’s my first derby game in Australia so it's even more exciting.

The Allianz is a beautiful stadium. We trained on it a couple times this week and the surface is beautiful. So flat, the ball moves so nicely. I think when you're playing on pitches like that, the quality of your game naturally increases. That’s great for the game. Also, when you play in those kinds of venues, it just feels like you’re part of something special. It would just be amazing to be playing at those kinds of venues week in, week out. I think it brings a whole other dimension to the game.

Are you expecting interest in the A-League Women to increase this season after the success of the Women’s World Cup in Australia?

I'm expecting the interest in the A-League to increase massively. I think there's already been so much more interest, something like 800% increase in memberships for Sydney FC. That's already pretty crazy.

You’ve just got to hope the fans turn up for round one and it's a good game, a good experience. Hopefully from that point, it will just continue to grow. If it's a good event, I think people will continue to come out.

Not many of the Matildas play in Australia, but your teammate Courtnee Vine does. Do you think a lot of fans who became interested in women’s football after the World Cup will be backing Sydney FC this season because of Vine?

Absolutely. I think Courtnee Vine being in the league, along with a few other Matildas, is going to be a massive boost for the interest.

Courtnee Vine was obviously part of an amazing moment for Australia, scoring that winning penalty against France. A lot of people know who she is.

The young fans are going to be looking up to her and knowing that they can come out and watch her play week in, week out. I think it will be incredibly inspiring for a lot of young fans. And hopefully that means we're lucky and people will be backing Sydney FC!

Do you think interest in women’s football in Australia can reach the same levels that we’re seeing in England right now?

I think that's a tough question. In the UK, football is the number one sport and nothing really competes against it for that. Whereas in Australia, I don't think football – soccer – is the number one sport and you can kind of see that on the men's side. The crowds that the men’s league draws here don't compare at all with the Premier League. So I think it is a much bigger challenge for football over here and for the game to grow as much as it has in the UK.

But having said that, I think when you look at it in terms of women's football, there’s actually more potential there. The women's game in the UK is not going to be able to compete with the Premier League, because it's the Premier League.

Whereas here, there's every opportunity for women's football to outgrow the men's side, especially when you look at the support the Matildas are getting and how they're doing worldwide. I think there's actually a great opportunity. But it's definitely going to be a lot harder than it has been in the UK, and the growth won't be quite as fast.

What’s your favourite aspect of playing football in Australia compared to England?

I think I've always loved how important everything feels in the season – the season is so short, it’s like absolutely everything is thrown into that period of time. Also playing at bigger stadiums and in front of bigger crowds than I was used to, as well as the broadcasting of the games and the media surrounding it.

I think away games were also a big change and quite a cool one for someone from the UK. When I was at Adelaide, flying to Sydney for a couple nights for a game was cool, and quite different from spending five hours driving down the M1! I really love that about playing here.

BBQ or roast dinner?

Roast dinner, absolutely.

Tim Tams or Penguins?

I actually have to say, Tim Tams. They're just a better biscuit. Even though Penguins have a lot of nostalgia, Tim Tams taste better.

Christmas in summer or winter?

Christmas in winter. Absolutely. As much as I've loved spending time with people on the beach having a barbecue on Christmas Day, it just doesn't feel like Christmas whatsoever. It needs to be cold and dark with a chance of snow, or it doesn't feel like Christmas.

The new A-League Women’s season gets underway on October 14. The Sydney Derby will kick-off at 7:45pm AEDT or 9:45am BST.

Every match will be shown on 10 Play, so if you’re in England and want to kick-start your Saturday with some A-League action, you should be able to watch the match with a VPN.

Alternatively, the match will also be shown on subscription service Paramount+.

Winning Women

Celebrating the impressive achievements of female athletes across the world

• Sifan Hassan won the Chicago Marathon last weekend in 2:13:44, breaking not just the course record, but the European marathon record by almost two minutes. Hassan now holds European records across eight distances, ranging from the 1500m to the marathon. Her versatility at such an elite level is astonishing.

• Iga Świątek seems back to her best after a shock round-of-16 exit at the US Open. She defeated Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets to win the China Open earlier this week. Last week’s newsletter focused on the WTA’s return to China – read it here.

• I mentioned Simone Biles in last week’s newsletter – at the time of writing she had helped the US to a team gold medal, and went on to win the all-around, balance beam and floor as well. Congratulations to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and China’s Qiu Qiyuan too, who won gold on vault and uneven bars respectively.

Bits and Bobs

Women’s sport news and content that you may have missed

• England Netball has announced it will be relaunching the Netball Super League in 2025. Current clubs and prospective parties have been invited to express their interest in participating in the new league, which promises to deliver bigger venues, an enhanced live and TV spectator experience, closer competition, and advancements which will ensure rewarding careers in netball. Read more about this exciting news.

• More than 20 current and former female boxers, including featherweight world champion Amanda Serrano, have issued a statement calling for 12 three-minute rounds in title fights. Women’s bouts normally last no more than 10 two-minute rounds, but their male counterparts fight over 12 three-minute rounds.

• I mentioned this in last week’s newsletter, but WXV, a new women’s rugby tournament, gets underway today. I’m no rugby expert, so I’m a big fan of the accessible and informative content Stella Mills puts out. If you’re confused about WXV, want to know what teams are involved or how to watch, check out her cheat’s guide.

• The International Olympic Committee is looking for nominations for their 2023 Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Champion. The award will be given to individuals who have demonstrated a commitment and contributed to the advancement of gender equality, diversity and inclusion in or through sport. More information here.

• Details for the latest free Women’s Sports Trust webinar have been released. Taking place on November 2nd at 9am GMT, the session will dive into the current media exposure, consumption, and audience of women’s sport.

That’s all for today’s newsletter. If you enjoyed it, please share with your networks and anyone else you think may be interested. Thank you!