Photo Credit: Adam Butler

Following the success of the Matildas at the recent Women's World Cup, details of the new W-League broadcasting deal are starting to come to light. Fox Sports have announced that one W-League fixture will be played on Sunday as a curtain raiser to an A-League match and broadcast live on Fox Sports using their current HD infrastructure. “It’s a fantastic outcome for women’s football in Australia and will be the perfect complement to our live Sunday afternoon A-League coverage,” said Fox CEO Patrick Delaney. “Football fans will now be able to watch the best male and female footballers in the country every week.” The expanded deal echoes one back in 2013 where Fox Sports broadcast two W-League matches (Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar v Western Sydney).

The Fox Sports match of the week is set to kick off 2.5 hours before the A-League match at the same ground and is an opportunity for greater exposure for the women's game and co-branding between the A-League and W-League.

While the news of Fox Sports getting on board is a much welcome one, free-to-air broadcasting is still not out of the equation with the FFA continuing talks with free-to-air broadcasters including longtime partner ABC.

ABC and the FFA have continued communication about a new deal despite the national broadcaster axing the W-League from its coverage 8 months ago citing budget cuts.

The W-League is set to kick off in early September.