{"id":4492,"date":"2024-06-03T00:18:16","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T14:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=4492"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:17:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T01:47:53","slug":"matildas-mania-to-boost-womens-asian-cup-as-asia-enters-a-new-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/matildas-mania-to-boost-womens-asian-cup-as-asia-enters-a-new-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Matildas mania to boost Women’s Asian Cup as Asia enters a new era"},"content":{"rendered":"

The FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup was almost a year ago, but walking the streets of Adelaide last week you wouldn\u2019t know it – you\u2019d swear it was still in full swing.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Green and gold banners lined seemingly every street, bars and pubs were decked out in green and gold paraphernalia, while the airport was awash with branding and available tickets were non-existent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This had all the hallmarks of that transformative month almost one year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead, all this was for a low-key friendly against China. Although, where the Matildas are concerned, nothing is now low-key these days. They are legitimate box office gold, and their first match back in Adelaide in five years saw the city roll out the red carpet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd of 52,912, the second highest for a football game at Adelaide Oval, was the Matildas 13th consecutive sell out on home soil, a streak that shows no signs of ending any time soon. In fact, it\u2019s quite possible it could still be going by the time the AFC Women\u2019s Asian Cup rolls around in early 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Australia spluttered on the night to a 1-1 draw against China at Adelaide Oval, earned in the dying stages when Michelle Heyman bundled home from close range, sending the capacity crowd home somewhat satisfied, the scenes in Adelaide, and those around Australia over the past 12 months, have Football Australia officials convinced they can take the Women\u2019s Asian Cup to unprecedented heights when Australia hosts the competition in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike we did with the Women\u2019s World Cup, I think we can help the AFC take this competition to a new level,\u201d Football Australia CEO James Johnson said in response to a question from The Asian Game<\/em> in Adelaide last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy vision for this tournament is we\u2019re going to see sold out stadiums across the country, we\u2019re going to see great matches, we\u2019re going to remember these moments for many years to come, like we do with the Women\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBringing this tournament back to Australia, hopefully having the Matildas compete well on the pitch, reach the final and lift a trophy on home soil is where we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all a far cry from the last time Australia hosted the Women\u2019s Asian Cup back in 2006. Such was the lack of wider appeal at the time, the tournament was solely hosted in Adelaide and watched by a cumulative attendance of just 28,850, with the majority of matches attended by fewer than 1000 fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s most concerning for the growth of women\u2019s football in Asia is that while the rest of the world has seen an explosion in the interest for women\u2019s football, the Women\u2019s Asian Cup has gone in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the last four editions of the tournament, overall attendances have declined tournament-on-tournament, from 59,910 in China in 2010, to 45,250 in Vietnam in 2014 and 31,537 in Jordan in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India’s hosting in 2022 was a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic, with fans banned from attending, but was unlikely to move the needle when it comes to the stature of the tournament in the international landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s true that some of those tournaments were held in what could be called emerging markets for women\u2019s football, the trend is still the trend. Women\u2019s football in Asia hasn\u2019t experienced the same boom as the rest of the world, which is all trending upwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The UEFA Women\u2019s Euros have seen attendances surge from almost 135,000 in 2009 to 575,000 in 2022, while the same is also true in other confederations as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations saw a major surge in popularity in 2022, including a sold out crowd of 50,000 for the final between Morocco and South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONCACAF\u2019s W Gold Cup saw its inaugural edition in 2023 attended by 123,000, while the 2022 Copa Am\u00e9rica Femenina in Colombia also saw record crowds, with a cumulative attendance of 172,233.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asia has a lot of catching up to do, and fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s why, after the resounding success of Women\u2019s World Cup in Australia last year, the AFC really had little choice but to award the tournament to Australia<\/a>. It couldn\u2019t afford another middling tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am confident we will see a more vibrant and competitive edition in 2026 in Australia, where the unrivalled passion for the women\u2019s game is so palpable,\u201d AFC president Sheikh Salman said upon the official announcement of Australia as host.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He, and Football Australia, have every right to be bullish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia\u2019s successful hosting of the men\u2019s tournament back in 2015, which saw Australia\u2019s myriad multicultural communities turn out in larger than expected numbers, replicated on an even greater scale for the Women\u2019s World Cup last year, is proof of Australia\u2019s appetite for international tournaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That the Matildas will enter the tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy certainly won\u2019t do the tournament\u2019s prospects any harm. After just falling short at the Women\u2019s World Cup, the players themselves are desperate to atone and lift silverware on home soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter the World Cup I\u2019m so excited for the opportunity to play in another tournament in Australia,\u201d veteran defender Alanna Kennedy told The Asian Game<\/em> in Adelaide this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not footballers forever, so that\u2019s something that I want to really enjoy for the rest of my career is those moments because they come and go so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clare Hunt, who excelled on home soil last year, earning a life-changing move to PSG in the aftermath, was another excited by the prospect of experiencing a major tournament on home soil again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor us to host the Asian Cup is really big,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a tournament we definitely believe we can win. I think it\u2019ll be amazing and hopefully we get more growth and building capacity in our team, and hopefully when we hit 2026 we\u2019ll be at a state where we can win that tournament too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the AFC looks to turbocharge women\u2019s football across the continent, with the establishment of a new continental club competition, the AFC Women\u2019s Champions League, it needs a tentpole moment (or two) to signal a new coming of age for women\u2019s football across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an insatiable appetite for the Matildas, and international women\u2019s football, Australia stands ready to deliver exactly that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n