Robbie Slater warns Football Australia’s scheduling ‘own goal’ could waste the Matildas’ legacy and outlines what must be done to ride the World Cup wave

Robbie Slater has warned Australia risks wasting Matildas’ World Cup legacy by scheduling their next three matches in Perth, while fans in Melbourne and Sydney may not see Sam Kerr in action until 2024.

Australia’s hopes of lifting the trophy on home soil ended with a 3-1 semi-final defeat to England in Sydney on Wednesday night, leaving the Matildas to face Sweden in the play-offs for third on Saturday. place.

The Matildas have captured the hearts and minds of the nation, with the semi-final against England reaching a peak of 11.1 million viewers and an average audience of 7.13 million according to OzTam ratings and Channel Seven.

Its viewership far exceeded any State of Origin, NRL and AFL Grand Finals, even eclipsing the viewership of the 2003 Rugby World Cup final for men, which attracted an average audience of around four million.

The huge TV audience was mirrored in sold-out stadiums and live venues across the country, but the Matildas’ next three matches will all be played at HBF Park in Perth, which can hold just over 20,000 fans.

The Matildas lost to England in the semi-final but won the hearts of a nation

Slater believes the capacity is insufficient to meet post World Cup demands and that Football Australia should not have scheduled all three matches in Perth despite the city not hosting any of the Matildas World Cup matches.

“What an own goal,” he wrote in his Code sports column on Friday.

“Football needs to stop apologizing for every decision they make and giving all three games to Perth just feels like compensation for not bringing Matildas World Cup games to Western Australia.

But now is not the time to aim for fun. Now is the time to think big and aim big.”

The former Socceroos star confessed to fans in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney – where Australia played to sold-out stadiums – they may not get to see the Matildas in action for another year.

It’s an approach that Slater says can backfire.

“There will be a lot of disappointed fans if they have to wait a year or more to experience this Matildas magic again.”

Slater acknowledged that figuring out how to capitalize on the short-term momentum of big events when Australia’s best players – for both the Matildas and Socceroos – was a challenge.

Australia played to huge crowds in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane

But their next three games are scheduled at HBF Park in Perth, which can hold 20,000 fans

But he called on football executives and politicians to ensure that the wave of excitement generated by the World Cup did not abate.

“You want this World Cup to create a ripple effect that will be felt throughout the game,” he wrote.

“And it starts with politicians realizing how important football is to Australia.”

Slater’s plea came as Matilda’s great Elise Kellond-Knight put pressure on the A-League Women to provide the facilities, stadiums and broadcasting needed to capitalize on Australia’s exciting World Cup journey.

Matilda’s great Elise Kellond-Knight wants to invest more in domestic A-League Women competition after Women’s World Cup

The entire team of 23 players at Matildas played in the ALW, formerly the W-League, at one point in their careers.

And Kellond-Knight said it was now up to the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) to deliver a product that fans wanted to see and sponsors to invest in.

“They (the fans) want a world-class product,” she told the Australian Associated Press.

“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.”