By Vince Rugari
Back in 2006, long before Australia fell in love with the Matildas, Lydia Williams was in mad rush to finish an evening team meeting in Canberra. She wolfed down dinner and then her and her teammates bolted out the door as quickly as possible.
The reason? To catch a Pink concert at the AIS Arena.
Lydia Williams presents Pink and her daughter, Willow, with the first retail versions of the Matildas goalkeeping kit, which will go on sale on Tuesday.
Almost two decades later, they’re both still going strong – and on Saturday night, Williams got to meet one of her musical idols backstage before her show in Melbourne, presenting her with a little piece of history.
Relenting to intense public pressure after Mackenzie Arnold’s shootout heroics at the Women’s World Cup, Nike is now selling Matildas’ goalkeeper jerseys – something it has never done before for an Australian team, male or female. Pink and her daughter, Willow, were the first in the world to get their hands on the retail version, which goes on sale on Tuesday.
“She grabbed it right away. She was like, ‘These are sick’,” Williams said.
There aren’t many more famous people in Australia at the moment than the Matildas – aside, of course, from touring musicians Taylor Swift and Pink. The former’s tour wraps up on Monday night, but the latter is still going strong; so strong that Pink is basically an honorary Australian, given how often she seems to be performing here. She has sold more than three million career tickets here and in New Zealand, and her current show – the Summer Carnival tour, which runs through to the end of March – will be seen by more than 900,000 people.
Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold was player of the match in the World Cup quarter-final against France.Credit: Getty Images/Reuters
“She loves Australia, and she loves Australians,” Williams, 35, said. “And supporting women’s sport, she’s a huge advocate. When she realised it was about the World Cup and the first release of the jerseys, her excitement and genuine curiosity ... she’s smiling big in the photo, so she’s definitely pumped about it.
“She’s like the Taylor Swift of our generation. If Pink had that level of social media back then she would be the equivalent to that.”
Nike is only selling the purple version of the jersey – not the black shirt Arnold actually wore during Australia’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over France in the quarter-final – but it’s a start.
England’s Mary Earps first put the issue on the table last year, saying it was “very hurtful” and an “injustice” that the apparel company didn’t produce goalkeeper jerseys for fans to buy, which she said stopped young people from aspiring to play in that position.
Pink performed at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne last weekend.Credit: Richard Clifford
Williams, who was part of Australia’s World Cup squad as a back-up to Arnold, concurs.
“The amount of people who wanted to get a jersey was massive,” she said. “It’s so important for the visibility of females in sport and female goalkeepers. ‘Macca’ obviously had an amazing performance at the World Cup, and now for people who have her and myself and Teagan [Micah] and Jada [Whyman] as their heroes, it’s really exciting that they can have that opportunity.”
Williams will watch her teammates play the second leg of their Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan on Wednesday night from the stands at Marvel Stadium, having recently undergone ankle surgery to give her a chance of making it to Paris 2024.
“Timing-wise, it wasn’t ideal, but if I had it later, it was even less ideal,” she said. “When you get over 30, it’s slow and steady wins the race. Hopefully, I’m not too far off now being able to join the team a little bit and be around the girls instead of being locked away in a pool or spa, in recovery mode.”
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