Sam Kerr’s urgent request answered as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces $200m funding boost for women’s sport and says Matildas ‘changed sport in Australia forever’
- Massive boost for women’s sport
- $200 million on the play Our Way program
- Matildas’ World Cup campaign fueled major investment
The Albanian government will deploy $200 million in funding for women’s sports and revise broadcast rules following the success of the Matildas.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Women’s World Cup had “changed sport in Australia forever” as he detailed a $200million increase for women’s sport and an overhaul of broadcast rules.
Following the highly publicized Matildas Cup tilt, Mr Albanese announced funding for the Play Our Way scheme in Brisbane on Saturday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would allocate $200 million in funding to women’s sport
He also announced the appointment of an expert panel of former female athletes to help design the program, including Liz Ellis, Lauren Jackson, Madison de Rozario and Tal Karp.
Mr Albanese said the aim was to ensure that young girls could not only grow up seeing women in sport, but also aspire to become sportswomen themselves.
The investment comes after Matildas captain Sam Kerr asked for more money to help develop grassroots football in Australia after the historic Women’s World Cup semi-final.
Funding will be available to upgrade facilities and provide equipment, especially for women and girls, with the aim of getting more into the sport.
The program will be available for all sports, but football, as the most played game in Australia, will require significant resources.
Applications for the program grants are expected to open in early 2024.
Mr Albanese said the government wants women and girls across the country to have the facilities and support to choose a sport they love.
The Matildas’ success at the Women’s World Cup has prompted calls for more funding for women’s sport, led by Australian skipper Sam Kerr
“The Matildas have given us a moment of national inspiration, it’s about seizing this opportunity for the next generation, to invest in community sports facilities for women and girls across Australia,” he said. -he declares.
Sports Minister Anika Wells said providing safer facilities was vital.
“Too often, women and girls change in the men’s room, wear boys’ uniforms, play with men’s equipment on poor pitches where boys’ teams wouldn’t practice,” he said. she declared.
The government will also clarify its position on the future of the anti-siphoning list, which promotes free access to broadcasts of important sporting events.
A review of the list revealed that the system needed to be upgraded to incorporate online services to mitigate the risk of events slipping behind paywalls.
The review also revealed that the composition of the anti-siphoning list needed to be reconsidered with respect to women’s sports and Paralympic sports.
The government’s preferred model asserts that free-to-air broadcasting services provide the safety net for free access to sporting events of national and cultural significance.
The Matildas gripped the nation as thousands flocked to their games during the World Cup and millions more watched on TV and live sites across the country.
Streaming and other online services, as well as subscription TV broadcasters, may be prevented from providing coverage of an event on the anti-siphoning list until an unscrambled broadcaster have the right to televise it.
Possible additions to the roster include the Paralympic Games, AFLW and NRLW games, and the women’s State of Origin series.
The government’s options paper also reviews the list of men’s and women’s rugby league, rugby union, cricket and football matches that involve a senior Australian representative team.
The government aims to present new laws to parliament in the coming months.
