Fifa Women’s World Cup barely registers with Australian public amid packed sporting agenda
- One of football’s biggest tournaments struggling to capture imagination as AFL, NRL and Ashes dominate
- Tournament kicks-off on Thursday, with China coach hoping players can take on the challenge ‘with a smile’
From the opposite side of the harbour, the famed Sydney Opera House glows against the night sky, its white arched sails serving as a familiar backdrop for the temporary studio constructed by Fox Sports for the Women’s World Cup.
The broadcasters have left little doubt about their highly visible commitment to the tournament, with the latest edition scheduled to kick off in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday.
The booth towers above bystanders and tourists as the clock ticks down towards the start of the most-hyped edition of the competition’s 32-year existence. But beyond the banks of one of the world’s most recognisable waterfronts, there is a distinct sense of indifference.
Venture past the glitz of Fox Sports’ showpiece set-up and most signs of an impending major event evaporate.
While several of Sydney’s thoroughfares are dressed in the tournament’s colours and emblem, there is little to alert the uninitiated that the biggest Women’s World Cup ever is close to kick off.
Thirty-two nations – up from 24 in 2019 – will compete for the title over the next 4½ weeks, but in a nation where top-class sporting events are commonplace, the Women’s World Cup has barely registered amid a packed domestic agenda.
The Australian Football League season is in full swing and running at the same time as the country’s other dominant sporting code, the National Rugby League. Both have continued to garner significant media attention. So, too, has the ongoing Ashes cricket series.
The Women’s World Cup, by contrast, has been kept close to the fringes in a country where football has long been treated with suspicion and disinterest.
But despite the tepid media mood there have been promising signs of interest in the lead-up to Thursday’s kick-off.
Australia sold-out the 50,000 capacity Docklands Stadium in Melbourne in their final warm-up game against France last Friday, a 1-0 win that stoked growing optimism that the Tony Gustavsson-coached co-hosts can launch a challenge for the title.
The Australians come into the tournament looking to peak at the right time after a disjointed two-year build up that saw them crash out of last year’s Women’s Asian Cup in India at the quarter-final stage and then notch up a series of mixed results in preparation.
Talented striker Sam Kerr has come to symbolise the team on and off the pitch, the Chelsea player has been used extensively to promote the Matildas in many of the squad’s commercial activities.
Much of the country’s hopes rest on the shoulders of their free-scoring captain and interest in seeing her in action means all three of Australia’s group games against Ireland, Nigeria and Canada have sold out.
Other matches, however, across the 48 games in the group phase of the competition have so far proved less attractive, with organisers giving away as many as 20,000 tickets in New Zealand because of slow sales.
With few fans yet to arrive in Australia from overseas, the build-up to the event has lacked the buzz associated with tournaments of comparable scale.
All eyes locally will be on the co-hosting teams, with New Zealand launching the tournament against former winners Norway in Auckland in Thursday’s first game, while the expectation is that the usual suspects will battle for the title.
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The United States, winners of four of the eight editions held since the event’s inauguration in 1991, are heavily favoured and European champions England, their South American counterparts Brazil and Olympic champions Canada are all rated as possible winners.
China also go into the finals as continental champions after winning the Women’s Asian Cup in India last year, but any hopes Shui Qingxia’s side can match the achievements of a bygone era are slim.
Almost 25 years have passed since the Steel Roses reached the final in 1999 during the country’s golden era and the target for China over the next month is a place in the quarter-finals for a side ranked 14th in the world.
“Experiencing my first World Cup as a head coach, I do feel nervous at times,” Shui, a silver medallist at the 1996 Olympic Games during her playing days, said. “I hope I can maintain my composure and assist my players in building confidence.
“No matter what unfolds in the World Cup, I hope my players can face challenges with a smile and demonstrate China’s fighting spirit to all our fans.”
