Lifelong Sport

The Matilda’s are through to the 2024 Olympics! What an exciting year or two it has been for the team and their place in the Australian sporting landscape.

Their recent 10 – nil victory over Uzbekistan caped of a successful qualifying series for the Tillies and means that they join 11 other nations in Paris in July for the Olympic Games.

All over the country girls are enrolling in football in record numbers and the Matilda’s merchandise has broken records for how fast it has left the shelf.

The Matilda’s Effect, popularised in print, is making a huge positive impact on our society. I can’t wait to see what it does for the health and wellbeing of our individuals and society in years to come, as this effect continues to ripple out across our society.

As the Matildas continue to play to sold out stadiums, and continue to ignite our awe and admiration for their on field skills, their impact will only continue to grow, with literally millions of young kids aspiring to be like them.

The Uzbekistan team, while putting up a good fight in their first match, were out classed from beginning to end in this second one and unfortunately go home, I can only assume, licking their wounds.

When I think back to when we lost the 3rd place playoff at the 2023 World Cup, the Matildas still inspired us, they still left us feeling proud and full of admiration.

Anytime a team gets a 10 – nil thrashing, it is not good for the sport. Yes, it was great to see some of those goals and the precise passing that set them up, but it was clearly a miss-match and beating up on an inferior team doesn’t progress the sport forward.

If they had won 3 – nil or even 1 – nil, we would still have qualified for the Olympics, and we would still all have something to cheer about. Though the difference between 10 – nil to 3 – nil is quite different for the losing team. It is quite different for their followers.

Imagine if the Uzbekistan team could have a similar effect on their youth as the Matildas are on ours. Imagine how good that would be for the youth of their nation, as well as continuing to be for ours.

How good would it be for the sport at the global level?

That is the part I lament: we didn’t gain any extra inspiration for Australian youths by winning 10-nil and we missed out on inspiring Uzbekistani players.

The Matildas did nothing wrong. You should always walk out and put your best foot forward.

I am stoked that they have qualified for the Olympics, and I can’t wait to cheer for them in July.

There is a lesson here for anyone involved in sports, especially youth sport, where there often can be a big difference in team abilities and score lines.

Thrashing a team by a big margin does nothing positive. There is only so much positivity in winning and each goal comes with diminishing returns and, after a certain point, the positivity maxes out.

Stacking a team with older kids or chanting crush them is not what sport is about and only serves to weaken the sport as a whole.

Think about the kids on a team that gets thrashed each week. Do you think they are going to come back next year and play again? Obviously, they are not going to and that just leaves the sport weaker.

Perhaps you think that is ok. Maybe you think it is good to weed out the weak.

Unfortunately, you’ve missed the point. We don’t know who is going to grow up into an elite player and just because your team thrashed the other under 6 etc. teams by big margins doesn’t mean that they will become elite or are being developed. For those players who are now disheartened after a season of being thrashed. It is just as likely you have contributed to the future of the sport, never realising their potential.

So yes, the Matildas have qualified for the Olympics, brilliant. But sadly the Uzbekistan team leave here not having inspired the next generation to strap on some boots and play.

Unfortunately, that is not good for the global health of women’s football, but it is a lesson for us all.