Matildas coach Tom Sermanni blasts Australian women’s football scene

Outgoing Matildas coach Tom Sermanni has launched a blistering attack on the current state of women’s football in Australia.

As he prepares to hand over the reins to the Matildas, interim coach Tom Sermanni has launched a blistering attack on the Australian domestic football scene.

The Central Coast Mariners won their first A-League Women’s crown with a penalty shootout victory over Melbourne Victory on May 18.

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But the result produced very little coverage across mainstream media, with the domestic football scene in Australia struggling to keep up with the country’s other major sports competitions.

Sermanni, who is in his third stint as coach of the Matildas, will lead the team into Friday night’s clash with Argentina in Melbourne.

Joe Montemurro, who has just won the French domestic league title with Lyon, is widely expected to replace Sermanni.

Tom Sermanni has slammed the state of the domestic football scene. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The interim coach took the opportunity to blast the state of Australia’s domestic women’s team in the build-up to the clash with Argentina at Marvel Stadium.

Every current player in the Australian squad competed in the ALW at some stage of their careers, but Sermanni believes the competition has gone backwards.

“We really need to have, at A-League level, a real rethink,” he said.

“The league has been going for 17 years. When we started the league, and the coaches came from our institute programs, we had full-time coaches and more full-time staff than we have now, 17 years in.

“The A-League separated five years ago and what we have done since then is we’ve got home and away, which is an improvement, but we are still grossly under-invested in the women’s game here.

The Mariners won the ALW Championship earlier this month. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

Ellie Carpenter celebrates a penalty against France at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. (Photo by Chris Hyde – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

“I don’t know if there’s a thought process going forward about where they want to take the league or what they want to do.

“But there’s a huge amount of work that actually needs to be done.”

The Matildas were riding the crest of an enormous wave during the 2023 FIFA World Cup on home soil, enjoying record TV ratings for their march to the semi-finals.

But that didn’t translate to increased interest and professionalism in the ALW.

“It’s even more irritating when you think how we had the most successful World Cup ever two years ago, and A-League Women are in the situation that they’re in now, it’s just not good enough,” he added.

The ALW was established back in 2008, originally known as the W-League.

Once among the most important and influential women’s leagues globally, it has been surpassed by competitions in Europe, the United States and beyond.

Sermanni insisted the majority of the ALW’s 12 teams are “inadequately staffed”.

“At that time (it was founded), our league was the forefront of women’s leagues, to be perfectly honest,” Sermanni said.

“It’s still very important and coaches, staffs and players are doing exceptionally well.

“But the league itself is in need of significant improvement in its professionalism.

“There are three clubs that are suitably staffed — that’s Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix. And the rest of the clubs are completely inadequately staffed.

“Players get 35-week contracts now.

Mary Fowler (left) played in the ALW early in her career. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

“A league has just started in Canada — football-wise, we’re well in advance of Canada — where the base salary is twice what our basic salary is, where there’s full-time staff, full-time players.

“And we are still trying to produce players when we have a space of three months where the club has got no contact, no control, no reference point for the players, to actually keep them and know what’s happening.”

Sermanni will lead the Matildas for a 150th time on Friday night.

The team then has another friendly with Argentina in Canberra on Monday before taking on Slovenia in Perth on June 26.

Montemurro is expected to soon take over from interim manager Sermanni for the build-up to the 2026 Asian Cup in Australia.

Originally published as Matildas coach Tom Sermanni blasts Australian women’s football scene