In big news for all soccer fans, Australia and New Zealand have won the bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The games are set to take place between July and August 2023, across a number of different cities in both Australia and New Zealand.
These include: Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle, Launceston, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Dunedin. The opening match is set to be played at Eden Park in Auckland, and the final at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
I’ve never watched a game of soccer (and yes I’m calling it soccer, don’t @ me), but you can bet I’ll be watching these monumental games when they’re on in three years time. Gotta show the Aussie spirit and support the Matildas.
Why This World Cup Bid Is Important
I’m lost for words and want to say Congratulations to AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND on this amazing achievement. 🇦🇺⚽️🇳🇿🌍🏆🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 @TheMatildas
— TIM CAHILL (@Tim_Cahill) June 25, 2020
Winning this bid is important for three reasons.
Firstly, for sports fans who have always wanted to attend a World Cup but haven’t been able to attend before. They’ll now be able to experience the game live. Really, any sporting game live is exciting, because you’re in it. The atmosphere from the crowd is insane, and it’s great to feel like you’re part of this big event.
Secondly, the massive economic boost that the comp will bring for Australia and New Zealand is sure to be phenomenal. It’ll be three years since peak COVID-19 time, so it’s perfect timing to help rebuild the economy in these countries.
We’ll have tourists from around the world coming to see the games, spending money at hotels, restaurants, and other businesses. It’ll be extremely beneficial for the economy – but here’s hoping coronavirus doesn’t come back to spoil it for everyone again!
And thirdly, winning this bid is is such an important step for women’s sport in Australia.
Women’s Sporting Wins Aren’t Usually Recognised In The Same Way
If Australia was ever going to win this bid, now is the perfect time. This bid win is massive for women and women’s sports. Compared to other countries, our women’s sporting teams are well respected and highly skilled. They’re given some good opportunities to perform, and we should be extremely proud of everything they’ve all achieved.
For example, the Australian women’s cricket team has won more world cups and more ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournaments than any other side – most recently winning the Twenty20 tournament in 2020.
The Australian women’s netball team have won the Netball World Cup 11 times. And our very own Aussie, Ash Barty, is currently ranked number one in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association. These are just some of the incredible achievements by Australian women in sports.
For the Matildas – our women’s soccer team – they’ve proven that they can constantly perform well too. They’re three-time Oceania Football Confederation champions, one-time Asian Football Confederation champions, and one-time ASEAN Football Federation champions.
They were also the first ever national team to win in two different confederations, before the men’s team did the same in 2015.
But despite these wins across a number of sports, female athletes are continually paid less than male athletes. And some would argue that this is fair, because there are less spectators at their games, which means less advertising money.
Maybe it is fair at this point point in time, I don’t know – I’ll be honest, my knowledge of sport doesn’t extend much further than understanding points and tackles in NRL. But why don’t our women’s sports get given the same kinds of sponsorship and advertisement deals that men’s sports do?
The Football Federation Australia seems to be paving the way for rectifying this wage disparity in sports, however. Last year, the Matildas had their annual salary increased to match that of the Socceroos. It was a massive win for the gender pay gap issue in Australia.
Encouraging The Next Generation Of Athletes
With the announcement of the 2023 Women’s World Cup bid looming closer, we asked some of our NNSWF staff what it would mean for Australia to be able to showcase some of the best in Women’s Football!
#AsOne2023 pic.twitter.com/pc7jHvNz0D— NNSWF (@NNSWF) June 25, 2020
This bid win is so important for the next generation of athletes too, especially female athletes.
For young boys, they’ll be entering a world of sport where everyone is welcome and respected, no matter their gender. And where the pay will hopefully be equal across the board.
And for young girls, they’ll know that they have the opportunity and platform to succeed in an industry that has been historically male dominated.
Over the past few years, I’ve gotten really into watching NRL. I have no desire to play though, I think I’d break every bone in my body if I tried. But I’ve loved watching the footy on the couch with my dad and my brothers from Thursday to Sunday.
And the next generation of young girls are going to be able to do the same with sports too, because there’ll be a place for them no matter which sport they choose. It will show young women that their sporting achievements and interests are just as important.
The World Cup is a major sporting event, and the Women’s World Cup should be no different. 32 teams from around the world will be coming together here in Australia and over in New Zealand to compete for the win. And just think about how many people are going to be in attendance, watching these women from all over the world absolutely smash it.
The sheer volume of attendees will therefore influence how much is spent on advertising during the games. This will show that when women are given the same sized platform as men in order to perform, they can bring in just as much money. Which should justify a pay increase for female athletes everywhere. But that’s just my two cents here.
I, for one, am super keen for this Women’s World Cup, and I can’t wait to watch the Matildas win the cup.
Image Source: Facebook (Westfield Matildas)
