Matilda’s great Elise Kellond-Knight has been pushing the A-League Women to provide the facilities, stadiums and broadcasting needed to capitalize on Australia’s gold World Cup run.
The entire team of 23 players at Matildas played in the ALW, formerly the W-League, at one point in their careers.
Following the Matildas’ semi-final defeat, Melbourne Victory midfielder Kellond-Knight said it was up to the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) to deliver a product that fans wanted to see and sponsors to invest in.
“The pressure is now more on the board of the league. So how are they going to respond to this?’ Kellond-Knight told AAP.
“Unfortunately I’m just a player. I don’t work in administration – and that’s really up to them to fix.
‘I keep preaching: they have to make a good product. We have just experienced a world class product. So how can we now give fans a taste of what they just experienced?
“If we don’t go to the extreme and give them a product that was the same as last season where games are far away in the countryside, in poor stadiums, poor pitches, watching TV, using minimal cameras where it’s close viewing, and it doesn’t benefit the user – people don’t want that product.
“They want a world-class product.
“If we just go all out, make something that people want to watch, engage with, we know people will show up because they have that for the World Cup.”
Matilda’s great Elise Kellond-Knight wants to invest more in domestic A-League Women competition after Women’s World Cup
Matildas star Sam Kerr now plays for Chelsea in the UK and has access to some of the best coaches and training facilities
Kerr came from humble beginnings and played for Perth in the W-League competition, which has been renamed A-League Women
Kellond-Knight lamented some of the conditions experienced at Melbourne Victory last season, noting that players had effectively trained in a ‘park’ and played on a variety of suburban grounds.
“For me, we just need to be with AAMI (Park). I don’t know how we do that,” she said.
“Can we get additional funding and support to make that happen and play in the facilities the game deserves?”
Kellond-Knight noted that the best possible facilities and professional environment would help raise the standard of the ALW.
Politicians have happily jumped on board the Matildas bandwagon and Kellond-Knight urged them to keep their mouths shut.
“It’s about time the government really helped our game,” Kellond-Knight, who is also an executive member of the PFA, told reporters.
“You see how much money is pumped into other sports – and we need that.
“We have to be prepared for how many people want to play the sport now.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lobbied for a holiday if the Matildas won the World Cup but has not yet committed funds to the women’s game
Millions of fans stood behind the Matildas at the venues, live site across the country and by watching on television and streaming sites
It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese takes a ‘watch this space’ stance on funding the women’s game.
“You will see announcements at the appropriate time,” he told Sky News on Friday.
‘We have thought long and hard about sports infrastructure. Unfortunately, the previous government gave money to clubs that didn’t even have a women’s team. It was a debacle.’
In a statement, a spokesman said the government was looking at “more ways” to ensure the funding was “fit for purpose.”
“We are committed to helping girls inspired by the FIFA World Cup, Netball World Cup, Women’s Basketball and Rugby World Cups have safer facilities to enjoy sport for a lifetime,” they said.
“We want more opportunities for more Matildas. This tournament was incredible and proved that women’s sport is not a phase, but here to stay.
“We have spent a lot of money on women’s football and have pledged more than $84 million to support the Women’s World Cup and its legacy.
“We’ve committed $44 million to the organization of the tournament and another $40 million to grassroots programs like MiniRoos and women’s soccer’s first-ever home.”
The APL confirmed on Friday that the ALW will kick off on October 14 in a standalone round ahead of the men’s season.