Tokyo Olympics 2021: Matildas set for mega payday after Games

With a home World Cup on the horizon, women’s football in Australia is set to explode after the Matildas’ Tokyo success. Here’s how the sport can capitalise.

Most successful Australian women’s football team ever. Picture: Getty Images

Olympic medal or not, the Matildas will still walk away from this Olympic campaign as one of the most powerful commercial assets on Australia’s sporting landscape.

The Matildas take on the United States in Thursday’s bronze medal match but regardless of the outcome, the combination of star players, quality football and the Olympics being played in Australia’s time zone has created a golden opportunity for our female footballers.

With the Women’s World Cup on the horizon and bankable stars in Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter, the Matildas will finally reap the rewards of their mass market appeal.

At its peak on Monday night, a record-breaking 2.39 million tuned in to watch the Matildas take on Sweden during their semi-final – the largest viewership of a women’s sporting event in Australia.

And Thursday’s bronze medal match game against the USA is expected to be another television bonanza.

The players themselves have worked hard to occupy this space.

In November 2019, the Matildas secured a landmark pay agreement with the Football Federation Australia, resulting in commercial revenue being split equally between the Socceroos and Matilda.

Sam Kerr has been the face of the Matildas Olympic journey. Picture: Adam Head

Flashback to 2015, and Matildas were threatening to strike as they chased pay equality and equal opportunity.

The FFA knew they had a cash cow in the Matildas – after all, the most popular jersey scooped up by punters is No. 20 Sam Kerr.

Con Stavros, marketing expert and associate professor from RMIT, said women’s football is ripe for greater monetisation and the Matildas brand will only build towards 2023.

And regardless of Thursday result, the exposure of the Matildas during these Games is the commercial icing on Australia’s World Cup cake.

“This is the story of the Olympics … the Matildas have been building and now they have become household brand,” Stavros said.

“Every sport needs superstars and the Matildas have genuine stars.

The Matildas are well-poised to reap the financial benefits of a strong Olympics campaign. Picture: Getty Images

“And you can see the players are having a good time out there – before that game against Sweden they were laughing together and just having a great time – sponsors love seeing that.

“And the youth watching see a pathway for the sport of football – they see the likes of Sam Kerr and co. playing at an Olympics, playing Champions League in the UK – these are all important markers.”

Stavros said the Matildas inclusivity is also appealing to corporations looking to pivot their sponsorship strategies post pandemic.

Commonwealth Bank sniffed the turning tide and will become the official naming rights partner and bank of the national women’s team, the Matildas, Junior Matildas and Young Matildas from August 2021.

The initial four-year partnership will inject millions of dollars into elite women’s football and grassroots initiatives around the country.

“The World Cup 2023 is brilliantly timed not just for football but for women’s sport,” he said.

“It’s well placed to capture the attention of the public.

“People don’t realise how good women’s football is around the world and how much it has developed in the past 10 years.

“It will get harder for the Matildas because at some point Asia will catch up … but right now the Matildas are poised for success.

“And put this in perspective.

“With the Matildas we can realistically say they could make the semi finals and they could go beyond that.

“Our expectations are much higher for the Matildas than say the Socceroos.

“And we will probably never host a men’s World Cup in this country.

“The big question will be what do we do after the World Cup … this is when the hard work will really begin.”

Originally published as Tokyo Olympics 2021: Matildas set for mega payday after Games