Matildas surprise young fans ahead of FIFA Women’s World Cup
The Matildas gave some of their youngest supporters a shock of a lifetime in Melbourne on Sunday but there was so much more.
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Budding soccer stars got the surprise of a lifetime when they met the Matildas at a special event ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Fresh off their stunning 4-0 win over Sweden, the Matildas arrived at Elite Football Centre to the shocked faces of young girls who had been participating in a skills session.
The group was taking part in the clinic as the Commonwealth Bank was unveiled as the first local tournament supporter ahead of the World Cup which will start on July 20 next year.
It was also confirmed those in attendance will be part of a 15000 children aged between 6 and 10 who will be player escorts, meaning they will walk onto the pitch with global stars.
Matildas captain Sam Kerr, who was clearly the most popular player among the kids, expressed her excitement about bringing the first 32-team Women’s World Cup to her own backyard and New Zealand.
“When I was growing up, women’s football didn’t have the visibility and support it has today,” she said.
“I want to use the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 as a way to show all Australian girls that they can achieve great things through football.”
Goalkeeper Lydia Williams said it was clear the popularity of the team is continuing to rise and she expects it to go to another level over the next 12 months.
“It’s always nice being back in Australia and seeing stadiums getting more and more packed out,” she said.
“I think it’s pretty surreal (there’s going to be a World Cup in Australia). Everyone has heard snippets of how the euros have been over the previous year so to get a little bit of that momentum abroad and Australia has really picked up the excitement of the World Cup.
“To see how Australians embrace sport, and women’s sport in particular now, I think that’s really exciting.
“For a long time we didn’t even get young girls to come out walking with us and only in recent years have we had ambassadors coming out.
“To have the opportunity these girls have it’s unreal. Nothing like that was around when I was younger.”
Commonwealth Bank’s group executive of marketing and corporate affairs Monique Macleod said the partnership with Football Australia “reinforces” the organisation’s commitment to women’s sport.
“This is an exciting time for women’s sport in Australia and around the world,” she said.
“With 64 games taking place in Australia and New Zealand, the FIFA Women’s World Cup is the biggest women’s sporting event in the world.
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