WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Football fever grips Australia as Matildas’ adventures continue

Published

12 months ago

August 15, 2023

The largest crowd to watch a sporting event in Australia since Sydney 2000

The FIFA Women’s World Cup has had an enormous impact on the Australian football public, with the quarter-final against France becoming the most watched sports event since the Sydney Olympics.

Nothing evokes emotions like football, and no event heightens those emotions like a World Cup.

Millions of Australians discovered that on Saturday night as the Matildas defeated France in a penalty shootout for the ages.

Twenty out of the 22 players on the pitch were required to step up for the ultimate test of mettle. Can you imagine the pressure of taking a spot kick for a place at a FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final? The crowd barely able to watch. The noise. The roar.

Australian forward Cortnee Vine could scarcely believe what had happened. Speaking to the media after scoring the match-winning penalty, the look on her face said it all – excitement, relief and every emotion possible.

“It looks like it’s a footballing nation,” she exclaimed. “I think the whole Australian public has really started to become a footballing nation. I think you can tell from tonight that we are, and it’s amazing.”

Something special is happening in Australia. This is a country where the sports media cycle is dominated by Australian rules football and rugby league, and where the round ball game is often relegated to an afterthought.

But now, in a wave that is building faster than anyone could have imagined, football is the only subject on everyone’s lips.

There are tangible numbers that can describe the cut-through of the quarter-final against France.

Nearly 50,000 were in the stands at Brisbane Stadium, while 7.2 million people tuned in to watch the match on Seven – the largest figures for an Australian sporting event since Cathy Freeman ran her iconic race at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

The Matildas also occupied the front and back page of every major newspaper in the country.

Yet, just as important when understanding the fever-pitch that Australia is reaching are the intangibles.

From Tasmania to the Northern Territory, from dedicated live sites to flights 38,000 feet in the air, people were tuning in. Fans attending games of different sporting codes packed the concourses of stadiums, desperate to get a glimpse of the penalties.

You could tell the result of a spot kick walking down the streets of cities by the cheers or groans of the people echoing out from houses and bars.

This is the biggest week in Australian football history, and it is being driven by the women’s game.

Many point to parallels with John Aloisi’s penalty that helped the Socceroos qualify for the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. This generation of players grew up screaming Aloisi’s name after scoring penalties in the backyard and at school. The next generation will grow up doing the same for Vine.

The legacy of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is something that Australia and New Zealand have been contemplating and preparing for from the moment that the bid was won.

In a country where rugby union rules, New Zealand have perhaps had an even tougher task for eyeballs than their neighbours, but the sight of a sold-out semi-final between Spain and Sweden will quell any doubts about the engagement of Kiwis in the tournament.

For Australia, the historic run by their team – once recognised as the most loved in the country – has fully enraptured the country. Men, women and children, whether they have previously been football fans or not, have been spellbound.

“We played a quarter-final against an entire nation,” France coach Herve Renard reflected after their quarter-final defeat. Watching the videos, seeing the reactions and hearing the noise in the stands, it is difficult to disagree.

Perhaps most exciting is the fact that this is a team with two games still to play. That penalty shoot-out was special, but it could get even bigger. In cafes, on buses, in their workplaces, Australians are wondering out loud: what if we won the whole thing?

This is not a country that is used to success in football on the international stage. It is barely used to the global game receiving attention at all. To be so tantalisingly close to the biggest prize in football is mind-blowing. The momentum is building with every game, and one can only imagine the heights it will scale if the Matildas can overcome European champions England on Wednesday.

Millions of Australians have experienced for the first time what only a World Cup can give you. The excitement. The nerves. The tension. The explosion of joy, unbridled. The devastation on the other side. It is the reason why the game is played. It is the reason why it is beloved.

Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold – who made three saves in the shootout, and was named VISA Player of the Match – was understandably emotional after the victory.

“This is a night that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life. It’s so special to be able to share this with Australia,” she said, through bleary eyes.

The match against England will be enormous for all sorts of reasons. But if you want to understand the impact that this tournament has already had, you only needed to head to a community ground on Sunday morning. You needed to watch as a youngster took a deep breath and lined up to score what might be the first penalty of their lives. You needed to watch as they peeled away, celebrating in the vein of Vine.

“This has to be our year,” the newly crowned national hero exclaimed after the match. Record numbers of Australians will be hoping she is right.

There really is nothing like football.

-FIFA

WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Two Nigerian women’s clubs get financial boost from FIFA

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Following the record-setting FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, 1,041 clubs from 48 FIFA Member Associations across all six confederations are to receive a share of the revenue for the release of players who participated in the tournament.

Going by the final list of players submitted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to the tournament, two domestic club sides, Abia Angels and Rivers Angels will profit from the $11 million largess.

The funds have been made available via FIFA’s Club Benefits Programme (CBP), which was introduced ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 to recognise the fundamental role that clubs play in developing players. The total amount committed to clubs that released and/or trained the stars of women’s football rose to USD 11.3m for the 2023 edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ from USD 8.48m four years earlier.

Nearly two million fans at the tournament’s ten stadiums – and two billion following around the world – witnessed a new standard of women’s football at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, and now the clubs that played integral roles in shaping the talents of all 736 players at the tournament are to be rewarded.

“Strong clubs are crucial to the growth of women’s football, so distributing funding to over 1,000 clubs that have been instrumental in developing the world’s top female footballers is just one way that FIFA can offer its support,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino yesterday.

“What’s truly unique about this programme is that FIFA does not only reward the clubs that released the players for the tournament but also the clubs that have contributed to each player’s development between the ages of 12 and 22.

This development also means that most of the players who began their careers in Nigeria before their sojourn overseas will benefit from the gesture from the world football body.

“This model ensures that crucial funding as well as the incentive for clubs to provide the best possible training and environment for female talent – reaches every part of the global football ecosystem, benefiting grassroots and professional clubs.”

The number of clubs that were identified by FIFA as eligible to receive payments via the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 CBP increased by 219 clubs from 822 in 2019 to 1,041 in 2023. Positively, the number of clubs across FIFA’s Member Associations also increased from 39 in 2019 to 48 in 2023.

Each club’s share has been determined by the role that they played in a player’s development or participation in the tournament, either as a releasing club, a training club, or both.

Each eligible releasing club will receive an equal amount per player per day at the tournament, counting from the beginning of the release period (10 July 2023) and finishing the day following the last match of the player’s national team at the tournament.

Each training club will receive an amount based on the number of training periods the player spent at the club between ages 12 and 22, with each year consisting of a maximum of two training periods. The number of days that the player spent at the tournament is also factored in, however, the number of minutes played by a player in any given match at the tournament is irrelevant, with all players treated equally based on the number of days that they were at the tournament.

In the 1,043 clubs, UEFA dominated in numbers with 581 Asia Federation was next with 151 clubs while CONCACAF was next with 108 just as COMEBOL followed with 95 and then CAF with 76 clubs and Oceania Federation took the rear with just 30 clubs.

WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

CAF Women’s Champions League Qualifiers draw holds on Wednesday

Published

6 days ago

July 20, 2024

Kunle Solaja

The 2024-2025 women’s interclub football season will officially kick off on Wednesday, 24 July, with the draw for the CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers in 4 zones: UNAF, UNIFFAC, WAFU B and CECAFA.

The draw will be conducted at 10:00 GMTat the CAF Headquarters in Egypt and live-streamed on CAF TV and CAFOnline.com.

Below are the teams entered by zone and the dates of the qualifying tournaments:

WAFU B (10 – 23 August): Ainonvi FC (Benin), Hasaacas Ladies (Ghana), Inter d’Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), AO Étincelles OU USFA (Burkina Faso), AS Garde Nationale (Niger), Edo Queens (Nigeria), ASKO de Kara (Togo).

UNAF (21 – 31 August): CF Akbou (Algeria), Tutankhamun (Egypt), AS Far (Morocco), ASF Sousse (Tunisia)

CECAFA (17 August – 4 September): PVP Buyenzi (Burundi), FAD (Djibouti), CBE FC (Ethiopia), Kenya Police Bullets (Kenya), Kawempe Muslim (Uganda), Rayon Sports (Rwanda), Yei Joint Stars (South Sudan), Simba Queens (Tanzania), Warriors Queens (Zanzibar)

UNIFFAC (16 – 24 August): Lekié FF (Cameroon), TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Atlético de Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), CSM Diables Noirs (Congo)

WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Colombia 2024: Danjuma invites 32 as countdown begins to Final Tournament

Published

3 weeks ago

July 5, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Flying Eagles, Falconets To Resume Camp On Thursday -

With just eight weeks to their first match of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024, Head Coach Chris Musa Danjuma has called up four goalkeepers, eight defenders, eight midfielders and 12 strikers to a training camp in the Federal Capital, Abuja in the first phase of preparation for the global tournament.

Team captain Oluchi Ohaegbulem is top of the list, with first-choice goalkeeper Faith Omilana, defenders Shukurat Oladipo and Comfort Folorunsho, midfielders Chinyere Kalu, Adoo Yina and Rofiat Imuran, and forwards Janet Akekoromowei, Flourish Sabastine and Aminat Bello also called.

Nigeria, a fixture at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals since the tournament began as an U19 event in Canada 22 years ago, will contend with three-time winners Germany, Asian powerhouse Korea Republic and South American representatives Venezuela in group D of the competition scheduled for three Colombian cities, 31^st August – 22^nd September.

All the invited are expected at Serob Legacy Hotel, Wuye, Abuja on Sunday, 7^th July.

ALL THE INVITED PLAYERS:

Goalkeepers: Anderline Mgbechi (Delta Queens); Rachael Unachukwu (Nasarawa Amazons); Faith Omilana (Naija Ratels); Shukura Bakare (Nasarawa Amazons)

Defenders: Oluchi Ohaegbulem (Nasarawa Amazons); Jumoke Alani (Nasarawa Amazons); Shukurat Oladipo (FC Robo Queens); Oluwabunmi Oladeji (Naija Ratels); Folashade Adegbemile (Delta Queens); Chidera Okenwa (Delta Queens); Comfort Folorunsho (Edo Queens); Taiwo Lawal

Midfielders: Adoo Yina (Nasarawa Amazons); Olushola Shobowale (Nasarawa Amazons); Aminat Folorunsho (Rivers Angels); Chioma Olise (Edo Queens); Chinyere Kalu (Nasarawa Amazons); Joy Igbokwe (Naija Ratels); Rofiat Imuran (Stade de Reims, France); Zikora Agama (Naija Ratels)

Forwards: Delight Nwosu (Dannaz Ladies); Adaobi Okah (Remo Stars Ladies); Chiamaka Okwuchukwu (Rivers Angels); Chinaza Agoh (Delta Queens); Mary Nkpa (Heartland Queens); Chiamaka Osigwe (Edo Queens); Janet Akekoromowei (Asisat Academy); Mary Offor (Adamawa Queens); Flourish Sabastine (Stade de Reims, France); Sharon Ulumma (Heartland Queens); Aminat Bello (Otero College, USA); Reilly Adebowale (Bohemian FC, Republic of Ireland)