In 2023, for the first time ever, the Australian women’s national soccer team placed fourth at a FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Matildas’ highest finish ever was an astonishing achievement, especially considering their history.

During the first two decades of their existence, the Australian women’s national soccer team received little to no support from their national soccer federation. The Matildas did not have official uniforms at the time and were forced to wear kits that the Australian men’s national soccer team had either used or thrown away. Oftentimes, the women were not even paid at all.

The results of neglecting the Matildas during their formative years spoke for themselves. After the Aussie women failed to qualify for the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991, they qualified for the next three World Cups but failed to make it out of the group stages and did not win a single match. While the Matildas managed to advance to the knockout stages in the next four World Cups, they never finished higher than sixth.

During the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, however, the Matildas really outdid themselves. For the first time ever, they topped their group, thrashing Canada (the reigning Olympic champion) 4-0. They did this without Sam Kerr, the Matildas’ best player and arguably one of the best female footballers in the world, who was injured for the group stage matches. Once the Matildas got Kerr back, they made it to the semifinals (which was watched by an amazing 42 percent of Australians), making them the first senior Australian team to make it that far in a World Cup.

But the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup did not enthrall just Australia. Globally, approximately 2 billion people tuned in to watch this event, surpassing the 1.12 billion people who watched the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and potentially inspiring a new generation of girls to pursue their dreams of becoming whatever they want to be. This number is even more impressive when taking into account the drastic time differences between Australia and New Zealand (the two co-hosts for this event) and major television markets in Europe and the United States. If there were any doubts about the popularity of women’s soccer, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup went a long way toward erasing them.

By Kim You-joo, Branksome Hall Asia