Step off the plane at Auckland airport and you step on to the pitch. Well, a pitch, a mini artificial pitch, with a little stand in which those waiting in arrivals can sit while their friend or family member struts on to the turf to meet them, pulling a suitcase that disagrees with the surface.
In New Zealand and Australia Women’s World Cup fever has well and truly taken hold, with advertising, flags, welcome signs and merchandise on show. There is a buzz, in New Zealand because it is so rare that these players get to play in front of home crowds, being such a long way to go for friendlies, and in Australia because there is a real undercurrent of excitement at their prospects in the tournament.
The vibe is very different from that which welcomed fans arriving for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, where if it was possible for a country to shrug its shoulders, that is precisely what would have happened if you had asked it whether the tournament was even taking place. France felt out of step with the demands of a growing game with an increasingly captive audience, but Australia and New Zealand feel as if they have quickened pace with delight to keep up with the ever-growing women’s game.
This is not just a big moment for women’s football in Australia and New Zealand, it is a big moment for sport. Sam Kerr is not just the poster girl for women’s football here in Australia, or for football, but a poster girl in general and she is playing on the biggest of stages in front of everyone.
The Sydney Olympics gold medallist and sporting icon Cathy Freeman surprised the Matildas with a visit this week. “The power of you just being here is unimaginable,” she said. “It’s beyond your wildest dreams what you’re going to be able to do. You’re going to be able to get into the blood of everyone who’s on the journey with you.” She is right and you can feel it, a flush of excitement and anticipation running through the veins of the country.
When the first ball is kicked, at Eden Park when New Zealand host Norway, before Australia play the Republic of Ireland three hours later, the curtain will be raised on what is sure to be the biggest Women’s World Cup in history and could be its most entertaining.
Yet, backstage, the quality of the show is being undermined. A number of the actors are in revolt, being pulled away from fully focusing on the performance. The focus in the buildup to the World Cup is not on the nuances of who can win and how but on off-field issues that are blighting teams. For England, it is performance-related bonuses, for Australia equal prize money, for Nigeria and South Africa it is not being paid, for Jamaica it is having to crowdfund to cover costs, and for Spain and France it has been frustrations with the culture in the national team set-up.
These issues will not go away when play begins. The US women’s national team showed the power of speaking out on the biggest stages four years ago when their push for equal pay was heard in the chants echoing around the stadium after they had beaten the Netherlands in the final. This is a moment when the world is watching and listening, and the football will not supersede the drive to use that platform.
The football, though, is needed to elevate the voices of the players up a level. For England and the other nations competing for the trophy, success strengthens the negotiating position. For nations making their debut, just reaching the tournament increases theirs. For those further down the rankings, each goal, draw or win does the same. Victory will look different to every team.
Who will take the biggest prize and have their platform elevated the highest? It is increasingly difficult to say. The holders, the US, despite being in a period of transition, have an unrivalled culture, environment and player pool that have set them up for sustained success. England, as European champions, are a threat but injury-hit. Germany seem to be finding form and fitness at the right time. France have a new manager and a sense of stability for the first time in a long time. Australia? Well, the opportunity for the co-hosts is large, unpredictable and exciting. In Kerr they have a talismanic leader capable of taking any game by the scruff of the neck and turning it, of getting one chance and putting it away. Around Kerr is a team of elite players worthy of sharing the stage with the Perth-born forward and capable of extraordinary things themselves.
In France, despite a few tough games, there was only really ever going to be one winner. The beauty of the tournament four years on is that the winner could realistically be any team that reaches the quarter-finals. The gap at the top is tightening and the prizes, on and off the field, are greater than ever.
