Is this the turning point for women’s sport in Victoria?

On Friday night, the Matildas are set to dazzle a massive Marvel Stadium crowd with their football talent. And across Victoria this weekend, thousands of other women and girls will play in one of the many community sporting leagues scattered across the state.

But only last week, the Victorian government quietly cut funding from a prominent statewide program, designed to increase gender equality in sport. On Thursday, interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni reignited demands for better funding, sponsorship and support for professional female soccer players.

More than 40,000 people are expected to watch the Matildas play at Marvel Stadium on Friday.Credit: Wolter Peeters

The calls for more financial support - from professional leagues to community programs - underline the stark reality of women’s sport in Australia, which is struggling to attract the necessary funding at all levels.

Victoria’s latest budget revealed that funding for the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation (OWSR) would be cut. The program was created specifically to bolster the number of women and girls participating in sport by providing Change Our Game community grants as well as encouraging equal access to sporting facilities.

Another program, designed to support clubs that developed sporting programs which helped to address the issue of gender-based and domestic violence, was also cut.

Budget documents from 2021 prominently announce the creation of the OWSR, with a Labor government press release at the time saying that the funding boost will “level the playing field for women and girls” and support dozens of projects.

The office received $3 million from the 2021-22 budget, and was allocated $2.9 million annually over the next three years.

The decision to cut the dedicated program is unnerving for community sporting organisations like the Darebin Falcons. Based in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, the women’s club fields more than 40 teams across AFL, soccer and cricket.

Falcons president Jane Ryan said that the OWSR grant they received earlier this month will allow them to continue improving access to sport and encourage more women, girls and gender diverse people to give it a try.

“We’re really aware of what it takes to provide accessible facilities for girls and women. Not only to recruit them, but to retain them,” Ryan said. She calls the decision to defund the program “bewildering”.

“It’s one step forward, two steps back … I don’t really understand why you would think it was no longer necessary.”

Jane Ryan, Darebin Falcons president

“We’re used to the state government and local members being really supportive … it’s one step forward, two steps back … I don’t really understand why you would think it was no longer necessary,” Ryan said.

In response to the cuts, a spokesperson assured that the government remains committed to driving gender equality within sport.

“We will always support women and girls’ participation in sport and recreation. The functions of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation will continue to be held within Sport and Recreation Victoria,” they said.

But for Ryan, having a dedicated space to support women is more important than ever. She said that too many sporting spaces continue to be dominated by men.

Junior Darebin Falcons players cheering during the 2022 World Cup. Credit: Chris Hopkins

“There’s got to be a step-up in the amount of roles that are available for women. And in the first instance, in our experience, you have to force people to do it. You have to give them grants,” she said.

“We thought we were on a pathway to really addressing those things … girls think differently, play differently, need different things to be equitable.

“Sport is about making sure that everybody gets a change to get the health benefits and the mental health benefits. And that’s what we pride ourselves on,” Ryan said.

With Brittany Busch

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