The Matildas effect. That’s the phrase de jour to describe the paradigm-shifting impact of Tony Gustavsson’s side across the Women’s World Cup. Across a remarkable month, rating records fell, crowd markers smashed and the public were enraptured. By its end, it felt like Australia had been forced to recalculate not just what was possible for women’s football or women’s sport, or football or sport, for that matter, but its cultural touchpoints.
Now, two months on, Australia’s domestic league, the A-League Women (ALW), returns. It resumes against a backdrop of expectation and aspiration; a staggeringly successful home World Cup laying fertile ground to grow the league’s profile, spur further investment and bring greater attention to the players, teams, stories and football that populates it.
