Sam Kerr and Steve Catley said Australia had reached the point where they could continually challenge major international tournaments, but that their “not really good” funding model needed to change to keep them there.
Australia’s quest to secure the World Cup on home soil was shattered by England on Wednesday night as goals from Ella Ton, Lauren Hemp and Alicia Russo canceled out a fine strike from Kerr and lifted Sarina Wiegman’s side to a 3-1 victory.
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While the victory finally sent England into the final in what was their third consecutive semi-final appearance, Australia have now fallen at the final hurdle in their last two major tournaments: defeated by Sweden in the Tokyo Olympics semi-finals and now England in the semi-finals. world Cup.
“We are there, we are there,” a frustrated Kerr told reporters, “But you know, we need… I think there are many more and I think I can only speak for Matildas; we need financing in our development, we need financing in our base, We need financing, we need financing everywhere.
“Comparing to other sports isn’t really good. And hopefully it kind of changes this tournament because that’s the legacy you leave – not what you do on the field. The legacy is what you do off the field. And hopefully that, I mean, it’s hard to talk about now, but hopefully That this be the beginning of something new.”
For Catley, who acted as captain for Australia during Kerr’s absence during the tournament with a calf injury, the way the World Cup has managed to capture the imagination of the Australian public proves there is an appetite for football.
But former junior football club East Bentleigh, who had to join her brother’s team as a junior because there was no girls’ team at the time, said funding models needed to change.
“When you look at football in general in Australia, football is not as heavily funded as it should be,” Catley said. “It’s indisputable now that people aren’t interested. People are interested. The numbers are there. The kids are playing.”
“People want to watch sport. Hopefully this will be enough to prove it and create controversy and improve facilities and improve standards for women’s football and soccer in general. I hope this is just the beginning.”
Despite feelings in the match that his team lacked energy on the ball and didn’t take their moments, Australia coach Tony Gustafsson agreed with his captaincy.
“It’s a little bit emotional, to sit here talking about it when you lose in the semi-finals. I hate to lose,” said Gustafsson. “But I’ve said it before, [Australia’s home World Cup is] Greater than 90 minutes of football.
“We are very disappointed to lose but hopefully we can win something else: we won the heart and passion for this game in this country. This is not the end of anything.
“This must be the start of something. And with that comes the money, too.”
Wiegmann, manager of an England team that has now seen increased resources and professionalism at national and club level, to a European Championship and a World Cup final appearance, agreed with her colleague.
“Now, where [Australia] You must take the next step. “What does this bring? I don’t have all the context, but how can Australia develop the game for young children?” [For] Boys and girls, especially girls from six players to adults?
“How can they support that and get better parking and better facilities for everyone? And the professional game of course. It gives a boost and gets people interested in supporting the women’s game.”
