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\n \n A final roar of triumph shook Sydney\u2019s Stadium Australia as fans wearing red and gold punched the air, danced in flags and cried \u201cEspa\u00f1a<\/em>!<\/em>\u201d at the end of a Women\u2019s World Cup that FIFA claims is its most successful yet.\n <\/p>\n \n But a Spanish victory<\/a>, secured even without some of the country\u2019s best players, has in some ways brought the tournament\u2019s off-field arguments full circle, from early complaints about unequal pay to renewed focus on La Roja<\/em> and their fight against their country\u2019s soccer establishment.\n <\/p>\n \n An uninvited kiss<\/a> by Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales on the lips of star midfielder Jennifer Hermoso on the winners\u2019 podium, just days after FIFA boss Gianni Infantino advised women to \u201cpick their battles,\u201d<\/a> only served to underscore how much work there is to level the playing field.\n <\/p>\n \n In Europe, the historical home of the sport, these familiar frustrations received a fresh airing. But in Australia, relative newcomers to the game\u2019s big leagues, the arrival of the world\u2019s best women\u2019s players has left old and new fans starry-eyed with possibility.\n <\/p>\n \n Despite placing fourth \u2013 the team\u2019s best finish at a World Cup \u2013 the ability of relative outsiders to make it that far has elevated Australia\u2019s Matildas<\/em> to hero status. Statues are being built, money is being granted, facilities upgraded and murals designed as a reminder of how they \u201ccaptured the imagination of the nation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n But many within the sport hope the legacy of this World Cup is not just ornaments of greatness but lasting change that gets more women and girls onto fields, pitches, courts and stadiums \u2013 and offers equal pay <\/strong>on the international stage.\n <\/p>\n \n Denis Doyle\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n \n Fans cheer Spain’s victory while watching a live transmission of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Madrid.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n For Australians, it seems like their moment may be now.\n <\/p>\n \n Arguments about a lack of interest in the women\u2019s game \u2013 evidenced by derisory offers for broadcast rights \u2013 were answered with record viewing figures. The Matildas\u2019<\/em> semifinal against England was Australia\u2019s most watched TV program since the ratings system began more than two decades ago, with an average audience of 7.2 million and reaching 11.15 million viewers.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt really feels like we have brought the nation together over football, which some people might\u2019ve said we were crazy if we had said this would happen a year ago,\u201d Matildas<\/em> captain Sam Kerr told reporters ahead of the third-place game against Sweden.\n <\/p>\n \n But it did happen \u2013 and it\u2019s reaping dividends not only for football but women\u2019s sports across the country.\n <\/p>\n \n Asanka Ratnayake\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n \n Australia fans celebrate at Melbourne’s Federation Square after the Matildas scored the opening goal in their FIFA World Cup round-of-16 match against Denmark on August 7.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n In the wake of the Matildas\u2019<\/em> historic run, the Australian government stepped forward with 200 million Australian dollars ($128 million) for women\u2019s sport \u2013 not just football \u2013 on top of the 357 million Australian dollars ($228 million) in its post-tournament plan, Legacy \u201923<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The government\u2019s \u201cPlay Our Way\u201d money will be used to \u201cpromote equal access, build more suitable facilities, and support grassroots initiatives to get women and girls to engage, stay, and participate in sport throughout their lives,\u201d the government said in a statement.\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s the kind of financial support that\u2019s been a long time coming.\n <\/p>\n \n Former Matilda<\/em> Karen Menzies \u2013 who played for Australia\u2019s national team in the 1980s \u2013 recalls having to pay for her own tracksuit, accommodation and travel.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe didn\u2019t ever get to keep the strip, let alone have our names written on the back. I still had a full-time job where I\u2019d have to take my holiday leave to go and represent my country,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, those things have progressed. But there\u2019s still so many areas that need to be addressed.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n And while the Australian government\u2019s renewed commitment to women\u2019s sports is commendable, Kerr has called for more investment specifically in soccer.\n <\/p>\n \n Speaking for the Matildas<\/em> after the team\u2019s loss to England, the superstar Australian talisman said<\/a>: \u201cWe need funding in our development. We need funding in our grassroots. We need funding. We need funding everywhere.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe comparison to other sports isn\u2019t really good enough, and hopefully, this tournament kind of changes that because that\u2019s the legacy you leave \u2013 not what you do on the pitch. The legacy is what you do off the pitch.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Ulrik Pedersen\/DeFodi Images\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n \n Australia’s Sam Kerr and England’s Keira Walsh battle for the ball during their tough semifinal.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n How much this World Cup changes women\u2019s soccer more broadly will only become clear with time, but last year\u2019s UEFA European Women\u2019s Championship<\/a> shows that full stadiums can create momentum for local clubs and teams well beyond host nations.\n <\/p>\n \n After England clinched Euro 2022,<\/a> participation and attendance at women\u2019s football games surged across Europe.\n <\/p>\n \n The take-up was particularly pronounced in England, where participation in soccer among girls under 16 more than doubled. And it wasn\u2019t just young girls \u2013 participation of girls and women over 16 jumped 53%.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cA lot of girls are coming through, they\u2019ve got role models now, so that\u2019s been excellent. But also not only girls, but missed generations like myself,\u201d said Andrea Ellis, a women and girls football development officer in Bromley, southeast London, who was in the stands, screaming herself hoarse with other Lionesses<\/em> supporters during Sunday\u2019s final.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI wasn\u2019t allowed to play football when I was younger,\u201d Ellis said of growing up in the 1980s, when soccer was considered only for boys. \u201cAnyone who loves football knows what it means to you, so when you\u2019re not allowed to do it, it\u2019s kind of heartbreaking,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n On the eve of the final, Sarai Bareman, FIFA\u2019s Chief Women\u2019s Football Officer, told delegates at the FIFA Women\u2019s Football Convention that women\u2019s football was about to \u201cexplode.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere will be millions and millions of girls and women around this world who will sign up to play football for the first time ever after this World Cup and everyone needs to stand ready,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cTake notice of what you feel in the stadium tomorrow and think about this power and this cultural movement and what it can do in your own country. It\u2019s not just football, it\u2019s different.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Saeed Khan\/AFP\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n \n Spain’s players celebrate with the trophy after winning the 2023 Women’s World Cup.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n As hopes soared about the potential of this tournament to springboard women to parity with men, the recent words of FIFA\u2019s president show how far there still is to go \u2013 not just in funding growth but changing attitudes.\n <\/p>\n \n Days before the final, Infantino told women to \u201cpick the right battles, pick the right fights.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYou have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don\u2019t have to do. You do it, just do it,\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n \n Joanna Lohman, a former member of the United States Women\u2019s National Team, described his comments as \u201cinfuriating.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe have consistently had to ask for what we deserve and demand for there to be progress in change in the face of so much resistance,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what makes me so proud to be a part of the women\u2019s game is the battles that we have fought in the face of pushback and everyone\u2019s saying that we don\u2019t deserve it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n When asked about the backlash, Infantino seemed to suggest his words had been taken out of context, describing FIFA as a \u201cpioneer\u201d in women\u2019s football.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAs FIFA is concerned, as far as I am concerned, I think we have shown with the facts rather than the words that we are very open, that we are transparent, that our doors are wide, wide open,\u201d he told Sky News.\n <\/p>\n \n And while Rubiales initially dismissed his kiss of Hermoso as a \u201cmoment of affection without any importance,\u201d he later apologized for his \u201cmistake.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt looks like it has turned into a storm and so, if there are people who have felt offended, I have to say I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n What goes on off the pitch matters \u2013 to fans as well as players.\n <\/p>\n \n Before Sunday\u2019s final, some spectators told CNN they were backing England to win, not only because they had a female coach, but due to the Spanish team\u2019s internal disputes.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n
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