Former Matildas star Tracie McGovern insists she has NO regrets over posing for controversial nude calendar in 1999

Former Australia star Tracie McGovern has insisted she has no regrets about appearing in a nude calendar 24 years ago.

The Matildas made headlines around the world in 1999 when several of their players posed topless in an attempt to raise money and attention ahead of the Sydney Olympics.

“It was mostly about the profile,” said McGovern, now 45, who missed the Olympics through injury BBC Sports. “We wanted bums in seats at the Games, but I don’t think any of us expected the attention we got.

“A lot of people knew me as Miss January.”

Accompanying McGovern’s solo recording is a personal message in which she attributes her success to the support of her friends and family.

Tracie McGovern said she chose to play to help raise the Matildas’ profile

The 45-year-old insists she has no regrets about the calendar, although some of her teammates are still ashamed of the project.

“I had a great time, although the team shot was a bit strange,” she says. “We all had our robes on, we got into position and then we threw off the robes, had the picture taken and then scrambled to put them back on.”

In the 1990s, nude calendars were a common fundraising tool, although the Matildas received criticism of the project from some quarters, with some expressing shock at how naked the players were.

“There were some feminists who felt we were sold out,” she says. “I fully respect that opinion and not all of the team took part in the calendar photo shoot. I did it for my own personal reasons. And then I did it for the greater good of the team. I think we’ve achieved that goal.’

McGovern, who is part of a group of former players involved in the Australian delegation for the tournament, added that she agreed to take part because she wanted to defy sexist views of female footballers.

“As a young kid growing up playing soccer, a lot of people made comments about my physique because I’m athletic,” she says.

“I had footballer’s legs. I didn’t want to be ashamed of my athletic body anymore, so what better way to announce that and say “here I am”? This is me naked. This is my naked truth.’

Former Matilda Amy Taylor poses with a nude photo of herself from the 1999 project

Ex-Matilda Bridgette Starr poses nude for the calendar, prompting criticism for how naked it was

While McGovern has opted to speak freely about the calendar, she admits that some of her old teammates are still ashamed of the project.

“It was controversial, but again we got people to our games and we got the name out there. Could we have done it differently? I’m not sure,” she says.

“I really hope that people will embrace that piece of history and not be ashamed of it.”

Fast forward 24 years and the conditions in which Matildas’ current crop is experienced are much better than those of McGovern’s cohort.

“We didn’t have the funding and infrastructure around us that they have today,” she said.