‘Makes a mockery’: 15 Matildas wiped from history, Aussie football in chaos

The Matildas are at war with each other over a shock move to re-write history with Football Australia causing outrage.

The Matildas are at war with each other after 15 players were sensationally wiped from history this week.

Football Australia on Monday announced it has rewritten history to announce a team from 1975 will now be considered the first ever Australian national women’s football team.

The move has sent shockwaves across the Matildas alumni, further fracturing the already divided group of former players.

Members of the 1975 team have for years campaigned for formal recognition as the first Matildas — but have always previously been rejected.

That decision has now been turned on its head and it has left other former Matildas fuming.

The anger has been led by Matildas legend Julie Dolan, who has previously been acknowledged as the first Matildas captain.

Her captaincy of the first Australian national women’s football team in an international against New Zealand in 1979 is now no longer recognised as a moment of history. The backflip by Football Australia also erases the 15 members of the original team from 1979.

Instead that honour has now been handed to the team from 1975, who will now go into Football Australia’s official records with the titles of Matildas’ No. 0.

Dolan will keep her spot as the No. 1 capped Matilda, but as a member of the 1975 team, she will also be recognised as Matilda No. 0.

Players from the 1979 Matildas team and current Matildas team pose for a group photo. Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

That 1975 team’s international tour has never previously been recognised as a national Australian team because most of the players were members of the same Sydney suburban club 1975 St George Budapest — and no national selection process occurred.

Despite this, the team represented Australia at an international Asian tournament against New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore in Hong Kong.

That tournament is now recognised as the first-ever women’s Asian Cup.

But that’s not how Dolan and her teammates see it.

She was just one of two players from the 1975 team to be selected for the inaugural international against New Zealand four years later.

“I want to stress that there were no trials and women from interstate clubs, or any club for that matter, were not invited to try out for this tournament,” Dolan said in a statement.

“To hear that FA are now recognising this club team as the ‘first Matildas’ makes a mockery of the selection process for a national team and is nothing short of farcical.”

FA’s backflip has been described as an insult to Dolan’s 1979 team.

Dolan has declared she will reject the offer to be recognised as one of the 16 “zero-capped” players from the 1975 team.

FA is yet to explain the exact reason for its change of heart, having rejected the same argument last year.

Some of Original 1975 Matildas team reformed. Picture: David Swift.

Pat O’Connor, who captained the 1975 team, has been among those leading the fight to have the touring squad win national team status.

The ABC reports O’Connor was captain of the St George Budapest team as well as secretary of the Australian Women’s Soccer Association (AWSA) at the time and was contacted directly by international football officials to help co-ordinate an Australian team’s involvement in the Hong Kong series.

Dolan was just 14 years’ old at the time and claims she was included in the squad on a whim of coach Joe O’Connor, who said another member of the team was cut as result of a knee jerk reaction from O’Connor to “bring the kid instead”.

O’Connor and other members of the 1975 team were understandably elated by FA’s backflip.

“This acknowledgment and recognition as the ‘first Matildas’ not only celebrate our efforts and dedication but also cements our place in Australian football history as the pioneers of the women’s game,” she said.

“It is a moment of immense pride for all of us, and I am grateful for the recognition of our contributions to the sport we love.”

The rest is history. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.

Football Australia’s decision to change its interpretation of the past follows recent boardroom turbulence that last year saw Anter Isaac appointed FA chairman.

The new administration said its new decision followed a recommendation from a panel of four overseas-based experts.

The ABC reports, FA’s own panel of historians were not consulted.

The new panel arrived at a different verdict than previous committees, despite no new evidence coming to light, other than the introduction of a new frame work based on six different criteria.

The criteria included whether the 1975 team played against other recognised national teams, and their uniform and insignia.

Football Australia says the new approach is in line with how the original Socceroos of 1922 were acknowledged.

The FA board unanimously approved the decision.

FA previously marked a 40-year Anniversary for the Matildas, celebrated in 2019.

The official team list from the first ever @TheMatildas A International. #40YearsOfMatildaspic.twitter.com/1cmY97kcRa

— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) October 2, 2019

Soccer historian Greg Werner has told The Age the decision has opened up a Pandora’s Box.

Two of the 16 players on the Hong Kong tour did not play any game time during the international series. The decision to give them “capped status” opens the door for every other Australian player to have been selected in a national team squad, without playing in an international match, to be elevated to capped status in the official FA records.

It also rewrites Karen Menzies’ place in history as Australia’s first Indigenous Matilda. That honour now belongs to Aunty Tarita Yvonne Peters.

“This recognition is long overdue and a testament to the pioneering spirit of the women who paved the way for future generations of female footballers in Australia,” Isaac said in a statement.

“The 1975 team’s achievements laid the foundation for the development and success of women’s football in our country, and it is our honour to formally acknowledge their contributions.

“We have developed a robust set of criteria to ensure that the history of Australian football is accurately and fairly represented. The recognition of the 1975 team as the “First Matildas” reflects our commitment to celebrating and preserving the legacy of all those who have played a pivotal role in our sport.”

The active Matildas squad is much more united and will play a final friendly against Canada on July 14 before the Olympics begins on July 26.

Originally published as ‘Makes a mockery’: 15 Matildas wiped from history, Aussie football in chaos