Why Matildas’ golden glow has disappeared after Olympic and World Cup runs — and how to revive the love
Three years ago, you couldn’t buy a ticket to a Matildas game for love nor money — now, they’re giving them away and the golden glow has faded. Erin Smith asks if public adoration is dead, or just dormant.
Free tickets were handed out to Matildas Asian Cup matches across Australia,
raising the question is Matildas-mania dead or just dormant?
As Matildas superstars Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley, Hayley Raso and fellow World Cup heroes come together for another big tournament and likely last chance to win a major trophy on home soil, it is abundantly clear the golden glow has faded.
Arriving at Perth airport ahead of Sunday’s tournament opener the buzz of 2023 – and 2024 – has waned.
There are no life-size cutouts of Matildas stars, no banners plastered on airport walls, no mascots for sale in the domestic terminal, no one selling Matildas jerseys, no flags and competition organisers are handing out free and heavily discounted tickets to every match of the tournament – including Matildas games.
Post the Women’s World Cup, at which the Matildas finished a historic fourth, Matildas matches sold out in an hour. Such was their pull that state governments were scrambling to secure hosting rights to any friendly match. They had 18 consecutive sold out matches by October 2024.
Now they’re giving them away. The last batch of free CommBank tickets to Sunday’s clash with the Philippines were exhausted on Tuesday, but you can still buy tickets online to every Matildas group stage game including Gold Coast and Sydney.
Flash back to Adelaide for the Matildas 2024 send off game for the Paris Olympics. It was a friendly match against China. The airport had life-size stickers of the Matildas players on the airport walls, green and gold on the floors – there was no doubt the Matildas were in town.
The pre-sale tickets for that game, all 30,000 of them, were snapped up within hours.
The same again occurred for the general sale tickets.
While the tickets to the Matildas games are selling – they certainly haven’t sold at the rates post World Cup and pre-Olympics.
This Women’s Asian Cup is expected to be the biggest yet in terms of ticket sales. That will largely come down to the sheer number walking through the gates to the Matildas matches and the fact the games are being played in large stadiums.
AFC is also running a promotion of two for one tickets for select games and venues.
This tournament obviously doesn’t carry the same weight as the World Cup. But there seems to be very little public advertising for it aside from a few “dream fearless” posters scattered around the Perth CBD.
Given it is Sam Kerr’s home town and the Matildas captain is back to lead her country in Sunday’s opening match at Optus Stadium – I was expecting plenty of hype.
With AFL and NRL seasons about to start, the F1 Grand Prix next week in Melbourne, Super Netball season starting in two weeks and the NBL finals series ready to go, the Matildas juggernaut needs success to captivate the Australian public’s attention once again.
Only winning can wake the giant.
I took a few photos of the comments section i think they generally reflects where most of the current Australian sporting fans now see the Matildas and Sam Kerr especially.
