A landmark report has declared the future of women's football in Australia is at a critical crossroads, demanding bold investment to transform the A-League Women into a fully professional competition.
The player-led vision, titled Ready for Takeoff, was launched by the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) union. It argues that the league must seize the momentum generated by the Matildas' success and the 2023 Women's World Cup to relaunch as a top-tier professional sport.
A Call for Bold Action and Investment
Elise Kellond-Knight, the retired Matildas midfielder and PFA deputy chair, framed the moment as a "Rubicon moment" for the domestic game. Drawing parallels with the historic 2015 national team strike that sparked a decade of growth, she stated that "very bold action is needed" from stakeholders.
"This outlines opportunity. It's not doom and gloom," Kellond-Knight said. "The players have done the work to develop this strategy, and now it's about taking that next step together with the APL [Australian Professional Leagues] to grow the women's game."
The report is sharply critical of past administration, cataloguing strategic failures by the APL and a lack of regulatory enforcement from Football Australia. It attributes part of the problem to a men's football-focused decision-making process and insufficient investment in women's football leadership.
Blueprint for a Professional League
Inspired by the successful professionalisation of England's Women's Super League in 2018-19, the PFA's strategy proposes a radical shift in thinking. It advocates planning backwards from an ideal professional outcome, rather than incrementally from the current semi-professional status quo.
Key recommendations include:
- Creating a player-focused engagement model to attract and serve the new audience for women's sport.
- Urgently upgrading matchday infrastructure, moving away from repurposed training grounds to proper stadiums with adequate amenities.
- Improving the broadcast product with more cameras and on-site commentary to enhance perceived quality.
- Potentially opening the door to new club entrants if current A-League clubs cannot meet the required standards for a professional women's team.
The report warns that continued semi-professionalism will damage efforts to repatriate retiring Matildas stars and fail to convert new fans. "A new Matildas-activated audience will not be attracted by a league that compromises on the conditions and standards for women athletes," it states.
The Financial Case for Change
Addressing the crucial question of funding, the PFA presents an optimistic business case. It estimates that clubs would need to invest an average of $1 million per season to achieve full professionalisation.
However, the union argues this investment would be rapidly rewarded. Projections suggest that capturing just 5% of the global women's transfer market could generate $10 million annually. This would be supplemented by increased Asian and FIFA prize money, improved commercial revenue, and growing matchday income from a better product.
PFA chief executive Beau Busch expressed confidence, drawing a direct line to the 2015 Matildas agreement. "We believe it will require investment, but that investment will absolutely be rewarded," he said.
With the Women's Asian Cup on home soil just months away, the report positions the tournament as the perfect springboard to launch this new era for Australian women's club football.
