Matildas win The Don Award for stirring World Cup campaign

The Matildas have added the highest honour in Australian sport to their growing list of accolades in 2023.

The Matildas have received The Don Award, the highest honour in Australian sport, for their stellar 2023 performances. Picture: Adam Head

The Matildas have been recognised for causing a “seismic sporting shift” in Australia, taking out the prestigious The Don Award after a stirring run to the World Cup semi-final on home soil gripped fans of Australian sport in 2023.

Captain Sam Kerr’s side became only the third team to earn the accolade after the Australian women’s cricket team in 2020 and the Socceroos in 2006.

The Matildas were deemed winners over the Australian men’s cricket team, who won the World Test Championship, retained the Ashes and then won the one-day World Cup in one of the most decorated periods in the side’s history.

Most players were absent on international duty in Canada as the Matildas received The Don Award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Awards on Friday.

A statement from the Hall of Fame selection committee said the team had caused a “seismic sporting shift” with its performances at the World Cup.

“(The) Matildas caused a seismic sporting shift: transforming women’s football, uniting the country, inspiring the next generation of hopefuls, and further elevating women’s sport with a long-deserved national profile,” the statement read.

“What the Matildas achieved in the lead-up to the World Cup and tournament proper was groundbreaking.

Matildas players celebrate winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-final match against France at Brisbane Stadium. Picture Lachie Millard

“They smashed numerous records along the way, drawing extraordinary crowds to their games: nearly two million spectators at stadiums and hundreds of thousands at live sites across the country. On TV broadcast, their semi-final against England was the highest rating program in Australia since the current television ratings system began in 2001.”

The 2000 Australian women’s water polo team received The Dawn Award in recognition of their fight to have the sport included at the Sydney Olympics before winning the first Olympic gold medal in a nailbiting 4-3 win over the US.

Seven new members were inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on Friday: Johnathan Thurston AM, Kim Brennan AM, Kurt Fearnley AO, Lydia Lassila OAM, Nova Peris OAM, Tim Cahill AO and Tim McLaren OAM, while Bob Skilton OAM, Layne Beachley AO and Mark Ella AM were elevated to Legend status.