HADID: That question - could we have been here a little bit sooner? - is bringing up mixed feelings for many women as they watch the Matildas. But you can't help but wonder - could we have been here a little bit sooner? It's that, for so long, we've been told there's no value. Crawford again.ĬRAWFORD: That's why this tournament is so significant and why we're all feeling so emotional. A few years later, they achieved pay parity with the men's team. A turning point was in 2015, when the women went on strike, forcing sports officials to pay attention. One year, the team posed naked for a calendar to drum up media attention. For a women's invitational World Cup 35 years ago, the players stitched their own logos onto hand-me-down men's jerseys. She says this moment took decades to come. HADID: Fiona Crawford wrote a history of the Matildas. It's just never been catered to, if you like. And the players themselves are charismatic, tough and talented.įIONA CRAWFORD: The audience was always there. The Women's World Cup is broadcast in primetime. HADID: Observers credit the cut-through to the Matildas' newfound visibility. PATRICIA KARVELAS: Remember when they used to say no one wanted to watch women play sport? Apparently, everyone wants to watch women play sport at the elite level. Patricia Karvelas, one of Australia's leading journalists, had this to say. The code is also negotiating with FIFA to broadcast the Matildas game to tens of thousands of fans in their stadiums as a curtain-raiser. HADID: Saturday's quarterfinal is expected to be even bigger, effectively forcing the country's most popular football code, the AFL, to delay the start of their own big Saturday matches so they don't overlap with the Matildas. UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER: Caitlin Ford scores for Australia. HADID: The last match the Matildas played was the most watched event of the year on television - so far. Some public viewing areas are at capacity. They're driving us all wild.ĭIAA HADID, BYLINE: Matilda mania is everywhere these days in Australia. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: We should talk about the Matildas. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I cried tears of pride watching our girls last night. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Matilda mania has intensified. And as NPR's Diaa Hadid reports, Matilda mania is sweeping Australia. On Saturday, they will play against France. But the Australian team, the Matildas, has advanced to the quarterfinals. team is out of the Women's World Cup, dashing the hopes of many fans.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |