I'm going to put my money where my mouth is this weekend and attend a W-League match. The W-League is the women's equivalent of the A-League and kicks-off tomorrow with a Grand Final replay between Canberra United and Brisbane Roar. As a woman, as a football fan and as an advocate for the role of women in sport (both on and off the field), it's the least I can do.
You should think about doing the same - because you won't be disappointed.
The W-League is in its fifth season and is one of the best professional women's football (soccer) competitions in the world, not least because it has nearly all of Australia's national women's team, the Matildas, involved. Those who are not are only missing because of injury or pregnancy.
The Matildas are ranked 9th in the world out of 127 other nations that play the game and are the current Asian champions. Yes, 128 countries in total play women's football and play for the right to participate in the world's biggest event for professional sportswomen, the FIFA Women's World Cup. Some of those countries are surprising - such as Azerbaijan, Qatar, Kazakhstan, the Dominican Republic, Armenia and Samoa - which says much about the scope and potential of the game as both inclusive and diverse.
But I digress.
In this new season of the W-League, we also see the addition of a new team - Western Sydney Wanderers - and two extra regular season rounds.
If you or your daughter are one of the 140,000+ who play the game, go along to a match this weekend or some time during the season. It's not just a point of principle in supporting women's sport, but there are also some great role models for your children (boys and girls): such as Ellyse Perry whom we wrote about here, Kyah Simon, Michelle Heyman, Sarah Walsh, Elise Kellond-Knight, Emily van Egmond and others. Attending a live sporting event is also a good way of inspiring children to play sport.
Ticket prices are modest family-friendly prices of $5-$10 for adults and $2 or free for children. You can also catch a one hour Match of the Day highlights package each Saturday on ABC1 at 5.00pm local time.
Further information
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