Matildas star Chloe Logarzo blasts archaic facilities and demands change for elite sportswomen

Amid a NSW election campaign dominated by the Sydney stadiums debate, Matildas star Chloe Logarzo has had enough of archaic facilities that fail to cater for elite sportswomen.

Sydney FC player Chloe Logarzo has blasted the archaic facilities.

About every third week Matildas star Chloe Logarzo would trudge from Allianz Stadium’s field, down the tunnel and out into the courtyard, then duck and weave through throngs of fans to reach the AFL changerooms in the neighbouring SCG’s Noble Stand.

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Then, some 10 minutes later, she and her Sydney FC teammates would embark on the journey back — boots and all — to play the second half of their W-League game.

While they were doing that the men’s team would set up for the second chapter of that day’s double-header in the main dressing rooms right next to the pitch.

That was last season.

Chloe Logarzo has had enough with the archaic facilities that she and her Sydney FC teammates are forced to endure.

The season before that the girls used the closer, but much tinier, changerooms inside the cricket centre.

Now, on International Women’s Day and amid a NSW election campaign dominated by the Sydney stadiums debate, she’s had enough of archaic facilities that fail to cater to for elite sportswomen.

“I swear to God, if whoever gets voted in doesn’t change this stadium I’m going to be so annoyed — it’s just shit,” Logarzo told The Daily Telegraph.

“There’s only two changing rooms in there, so if we have a double-header with the boys we have to get changed in the cricket changing room and walk more than 50m to get to and from the ground.”

It’s been a long-term plight of female players at grounds around the country built decades ago, save for rare high-class venues like Melbourne’s AAMI Park and Perth’s Optus Stadium. Sydney FC were recently faced with a similar predicament when their W-League grand-final triumph over Perth Glory was played on a substandard surface at Jubilee Stadium.

The alternative was to hold it at Leichhardt Oval as part of a double-header with the Sky Blues’ A-League fixture. However that came with a caveat.

Chloe Logarzo celebrates scoring for Sydney FC but says the troubles off the field are totally unacceptable.

“The condition was we had to get changed in the Aquatic Centre, and that was across the road,” Logarzo said.

“All the facilities built overseas are immaculate, quality. They think about the future. We build for the right now, we never build for 10 or 20 years forward.”

Or at least four, when Australia hopes to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

“The thought of having a new stadium at Allianz is nice, especially because it could almost be constructed for when the World Cup comes around,” Logarzo said.

“If they’re really being serious about hosting the World Cup and trying to bring some money into the country we need better stadiums than that.”

Logarzo scored a cracker in the W-League decider but sustained an ankle injury that’s kept her out of Matildas Cup of Nation action and unable to impress new coach Ante Milicic.

The 24-year-old forward is still in a boot and has four weeks of rehab ahead, meaning she’ll be pushing it for next month’s away friendly with the world No. 1 US ahead of the World Cup in France in June.