Rebel Sport Nhl Jersey
Channing Rupnick
There were homemade t-shirts, ribbons in ponytails, green caps, weather-inappropriate scarves, club jerseys with the names of Matildas on the back and some were lucky enough to wear the rare purple goalkeeper jersey that Nike and Football Australia had only released earlier that day.
Michelle Heyman's four goal haul in the first half set the tone for a commanding 10-0 victory over Uzbekistan, and a 13-0 win on aggregate, to secure Australia's passage to the Paris Olympics, their third Games in a row.
They did it in front of their 12th straight sold out crowd on home soil, which stretches back to the last time they played at Marvel Stadium, mere days before the World Cup kicked off with a 1-0 friendly win over France.
There's the financial and commercial investment from the likes of Football Australia and sponsors and the emotional, social, and financial investment from fans of this team. Supercharge that combination with a best ever World Cup run on home soil and together, you get the cultural and economic juggernaut that is the Matildas.
Investing in the Matildas hasn't always been the done thing. Back in 2015, the team's decision to go on strike demanding better conditions and pay caused a stir. Remunerating this team, who had just come off a best ever result at a World Cup, fairly and subjecting them to the same conditions as the Socceroos was seen as a cost the governing body was unwilling to bear.
By 2019, after four years of incredible growth, a joint collective bargaining agreement between the men's and women's national team saw pay parity achieved. In 2023, further changes have seen the Matildas get paid the same way as the Socceroos and the teams receive a bigger portion of the money they help bring in.
The thought of not paying these Matildas fairly, as was the case back in 2015 feels like a distant memory. The economic value of this team has grown in the nine years since the strike and never more rapidly than this last World Cup cycle. In FA's Legacy '23 pre-tournament report, the governing body shared some impressive stats on the Matildas commercial growth.
During the six-week World Cup period, Football Australia's online store's revenue surpassed the entire prior financial year by 30%. That demand has not eased up with the purple goalkeeper shirts selling out almost immediately of their limited stock after their release date was brought forward.
Total sales for the Matildas jerseys were 19 times higher than what they were for the last World Cup in 2019, according to FA's post-tournament Legacy '23 report and more jerseys were sold in July, August and September 2023 than before, during, and after any previous tournament.
On a broader scale, post-World Cup research conducted by Neilsen in October 2023 found the tournament as a whole generated an induced economic impact of $1.32 billion, with the presence of 86,654 visitors in Australia being a major driver of economic activity.
In 2023 the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation in Victoria commissioned a report from Gemba which found "for every $1 a corporate sponsor invests into the visibility of women's elite sport, it supports the realisation of -- on average -- $7.29 in customer value for that organisation."
That report also found that "sponsorships of women's elite sporting properties outperform men's elite sporting properties when it comes to brand awareness, brand consideration and customer conversion."
But even after a record breaking World Cup and a record breaking few years for the Matildas, the wider trend appears to be one of slow uptake on the part of companies when it comes to capitalising on the women's sport growth market, with "industry benchmarks [showing] that the value of women's elite sport properties is currently only 12% the level of men's elite sport properties" according to the OWSR report.
True North Research has consistently found that the Matildas are not only one of Australia's most beloved national teams, but one that fans find most relatable, are most proud of, and are most emotionally connected to.
Then there's the players themselves. Not only are they still accessible in person and online despite their now stratospheric fame in Australia, they're easy to relate to and get behind, collectively and individually.
People see themselves in these women in their TikTok dances, their journeys to motherhood, their struggles with hearing loss, their best friends and partners and pets, their triumphs and tribulations, and boundless enthusiasm for Australian coffee.
The team has key values they choose to highlight because they affect them personally, such is the diversity of the team. Whether that be standing with an Aboriginal flag before Olympic matches in Tokyo, wearing rainbow numbers during Cup of Nations games, or calling out inequality in pay, standards, and treatment, it means something to people.
Getting swept up in the hype and the narrative because it is quite literally on your doorstep and standing with thousands of other people who care about the same thing you do, feeling the same way you do, who are as excited as you are about something that means a lot to you is pure magic.
This level of hype and interest felt unfathomable even five years ago and it feels unprecedented in an Australian context. Many have highlighted the similarities between Taylor Swift and the Matildas and with good reason.
Whether that be fans and the Matildas social media team alike making friendship bracelets in green and gold to pass out at games, to Eras Tour TikTok trends being adapted to fit Matildas games, and even the adoption of Swift's song 'Long Live' as just one of the unofficial anthems of the World Cup.
But the other, arguably more valuable, reason why Swift acts as the most relevant comparison for this moment for the Matildas is because there currently feels like no better example of a gateway into a traditionally male-dominated space, that centres and validates the fandom of women and girls particularly.
A dominant force in her own industry that has now more than ever celebrated and been driven by the power, economically and socially, of women and girls, her foray into the NFL via three-time Super Bowl-winning boyfriend Travis Kelce has been just as impactful.
The NFL has seen viewership records set in the United States this season, jersey sales, of the Kelce brothers in particular, spike, and the noticeable introduction of thousands of new fans to the sport has disrupted this traditionally masculine space but to the benefit of sport as whole.
In a not too dissimilar way, the Matildas have acted as that catalyst into football for many people who thought sport was never for them and offered an alternative that is gaining momentum, influence, and followers.
It makes sense though. In the Matildas, fans see people like them or people they could feasibly be. Diverse and inclusive. At Matildas games, people feel safe and accepted, enjoying the passion and atmosphere. The pitch of the roar of the crowd might be higher but that doesn't make it inferior.
And there is no set way to be a fan but plenty of ways to show your fandom. From those who will get up at all hours and travel all sorts of distances, to those who will buy several kits, to those who incorporate their love for the team into their everyday life through water bottles and handbags and phone cases via FA's licensing deals.
The company's sports business group noted women's sport is being viewed as a unique product that is growing exceptionally and has fans and investors engaging. In order to continue that growth consistently and sustainably, investment must be directed in the right places.
That means heeding the calls of Tony Gustavsson and players in the immediate aftermath of the tournament for more funding and not just continuing the efforts seen in the leadup to the tournament but going further in the hopes that the Matildas will do the same.
Investment must extend beyond the Matildas to the youth national teams and the A-League Women, too. FA will also need to continuing engaging with governments for additional funding to assist with the incredible post-World Cup boom felt at the grassroots level.
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