After a big 2017, the question now is how can the support for the Matildas be converted into support for the domestic league?

W-League season kicks off amid much hype but lessons still to be learnt

The moment is now. That is the feeling that is palpable in Australian women’s football on the back of a momentous 2017 for the national team.

It was a 2017 that saw the Matildas record victories over some of the top nations in the world including South American champions Brazil, Asian champions Japan, newly crowned European champions Netherlands and reigning world champions the United States.

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Their results and performances captured the imagination of the nation, bringing praise and new admirers to the national team and to women’s football. It culminated in a momentous September where over two matches more than 31,000 supporters turned up to cheer on the Matildas.

The question now is how can the women’s game capitalise on this moment and create sustainable long-term support, not just for the Matildas but for the game as a whole.

In essence, how can the support for national team be converted into support for the W-League?

It is a conundrum that is facing many women’s leagues around the world and we need only to look across the Pacific Ocean to see how another nation has grappled with the issue.

With three World Cup trophies, the US Women’s National Team is the most successful nation in women’s football. However, despite that success, the USA has seen three different women’s leagues rise and fall.

“The struggle in the United States has been translating national team popularity into domestic league stability,” says prominent American women’s football writer Stephanie Yang.

“Though the national team is obviously extremely popular, their audiences don’t necessarily want to commit to one team for an entire season. Everyone loves to go out for a weekend game and have a good time, its not the same as buying season tickets and showing up for 12 weekends.”

The similarities between the USA and Australia are noticeable. In the United States they have several big name stars – Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Christen Press - that can pull an average of 15,000 people to their national team games.

Australia are starting to build that same stable of stars with Sam Kerr, Lisa De Vanna, Katrina Gorry, Steph Catley, Michelle Heyman and Caitlin Foord all firm fan favourites with broad, crowd-pulling appeal.

However, the task for W-League clubs is to avoid the American pitfall. “Big name stars are useful in advertising as they have an obvious pull but some teams can fall into the trap of relying heavily on big names, even when those names aren’t in their squad,” says Yang.

“This creates a situation where a club may get a big audience for one game but hasn’t built a stable base for its own team.”

This “big star” draw has borne out in Yang’s research of the NWSL attendances in 2017. For six of the teams, their best home game attendances featured the Portland Thorns or Orlando Pride. Both teams are full of USWNT stars including Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan and international stars like France captain Amandine Henry and Brazilian superstar Marta.

The issue with the “big star” draw is that it is a short-term solution. Once those stars roll out of town, what is to keep people coming back to watch matches. Or what happens if you don’t have a Kerr, De Vanna or a Heyman?

“One of the keys to building a supporter base is offering a good game day experience,” Yang says. “It should be about building the team into the community.”

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Creating an unmatchable match day experience is a concept that is familiar to the A-League. The instant success of the Western Sydney Wanderers was predicated on the draw of the atmosphere at Wanderland.

However, the W-League clubs have fallen down badly in this area. Long-time supporters will tell you that the match day experience is nothing to write home about.

Gates open 15 minutes before kick-off at double headers, there is a lack of merchandise and few, if any, supporters groups; the W-League has failed to create an environment that is conducive to community building. It is that community that can be the foundation of a loyal and engaged fan base which generates a match day product which is a differentiator from other women’s sport offerings.

This neglect is particularly unfortunate since, if utilised well, there is nobody who will give more enthusiastic and accurate proselytising than women’s football supporters.

Canberra United is one of the rare clubs to get it right. In line with Yang’s comments they are one club who have established the team as a part of their local community with the organisation of post-match functions which see fans and players alike interact. During the week, players are sent out to community clubs and schools.

The pay off has been that Canberra has consistently produced the best crowds, match day experience and atmosphere in the W-League. However, even they would concede that they have room for improvement.

Which brings us to the 10th W-League season. Due to the attention brought to women’s football through the Matildas, there has never been more hype around the W-League season.

It has it all this season: big name Matildas, up and coming young stars, a strong international contingent from nine different nations, several genuine title contenders and a strong domestic broadcast deal.

The ingredients are all there to guide the W-League to the next level, but it remains to be seen if the clubs can take advantage of this moment in women’s football.