Sam Kerr’s urgent demand answered as PM Anthony Albanese announces $200million funding boost for women’s sport and says Matildas ‘changed sport in Australia forever’
Sam Kerr’s urgent demand was met when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a $200 million funding increase for women’s sport, saying Matildas ‘changed sport in Australia forever’
- A huge boost for women’s sport
- $200 million to the Our Way program
- Matildas’ World Cup campaign fueled the major investment
The Albanian government will roll out $200 million in funding for women’s sports and review broadcasting rules in the wake of the Matildas’ success.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Women’s World Cup ‘changed sport in Australia forever’.
Following the Matildas’ high-profile cup-tilt, Mr. Albanian Saturday applied for funding for the Play Our Way program in Brisbane.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government will roll out $200 million in funding for women’s sports
He also announced the appointment of an expert panel of former female athletes to help design the program, including Liz Ellis, Lauren Jackson, Madison de Rozario and Tal Karp.
Mr Albanese said the aim was to ensure that young girls could not only grow up watching women in sports, but want to become sportswomen themselves.
The investment comes after Matildas captain Sam Kerr asked for more funding to help develop grassroots football in Australia following the historic Women’s World Cup semi-final.
Funding will be available to upgrade facilities and provide equipment specifically for women and girls in an effort to get more involved in the sport.
The program will be available for all sports, but football, the most played game in Australia, will be resource intensive.
Program scholarship applications are expected to open in early 2024.
Albanese said the government wants women and girls across the country to have the facilities and support to choose a sport they love.
The Matildas’ success in the Women’s World Cup sparked calls for more money for women’s sport, spearheaded by Australian skipper Sam Kerr
“The Matildas have given us a moment of national inspiration, this is about seizing that opportunity for the next generation, by investing in community sports facilities for women and girls across Australia,” he said.
Sports Minister Anika Wells said it was vital to provide safer facilities.
“Too often women and girls change in men’s bathrooms, wear hand-me-down boys’ uniforms, play with men’s equipment on poor fields that boys’ teams wouldn’t train on,” she said.
The government will also clarify its position on the future of the anti-siphoning list, which promotes free access to broadcasts of major sporting events.
A review of the listing found that the schedule needed modernization to include online services to reduce the risk of events slipping behind paywalls.
The review also found that the composition of the anti-siphoning list should be reconsidered with regard to women’s sports and parasports.
The government’s preferred model affirms free broadcasting services as the safety net for free access to nationally important and culturally significant sporting events.
The Matildas gripped the nation as thousands flocked to their matches during the World Cup and millions more watched on television and live sites across the country
Streaming services and other online services, along with subscription television broadcasters, could be prevented from covering an event on the anti-siphoning list until a free-to-air broadcaster has the right to broadcast it on television.
Possible additions to the list include the Paralympic Games, AFLW and NRLW Games, and the Women’s State of Origin Series.
The government’s options document also examines the list of men’s and women’s rugby league, rugby union, cricket and football matches involving a senior Australian representative team.
The government aims to present new laws to parliament in the coming months.