Australia may have had its dream of Womenâs World Cup glory end on Wednesday following a 3-1 defeat to England, but that did not stop captain Sam Kerr from calling for more soccer funding in the country as it looks to take advantage of the boom in interest in the sport following the tournament.
âWe are there, weâre right there,â Kerr said to reporters in the immediate aftermath of the semifinal loss, according to Seven Network, a CNN affiliate. âI can only speak for the Matildas. We need funding in our development. We need funding in our grassroots. We need funding. We need funding everywhere.
âThe comparison to other sports isnât really good enough, and hopefully, this tournament kind of changes that because thatâs the legacy you leave â not what you do on the pitch.
âThe legacy is what you do off the pitch. And hopefully, I mean, itâs hard to talk about now, but hopefully, this is the start of something new,â Kerr added, according to Seven.
CNN has reached out to Football Australia who declined to comment but offered an interview opportunity at a future date. CNN has yet to receive a response from the Australian Sports Commission, the government agency responsible for supporting and investing in sport at all levels in the country.
The Australian womenâs team made national history at the tournament, becoming the first team â menâs or womenâs â to reach a soccer World Cup semifinal.
The impact of the Matildasâ run is evidenced by the record-breaking viewing figures shared by the Seven Network who broadcasted the co-hostâs games in Australia. Seven said the semifinalâs audience reached 11.15 million in Australia, with a national average audience of 7.13 million.
Those figures make the game the most watched TV program since the inception of OzTAM, Australiaâs audience measurement system, Seven added.
According to Seven, the networkâs coverage of the Womenâs World Cup as a whole had reached 14.04 million viewers on broadcast alone, as well as a further 3.4 million via its streaming platform, 7plus.
Kerrâs vice-captain Steph Catley furthered the strikerâs calls for better financial support of the sport. âWhen you look at football in general in Australia, football is very much not funded the way it should be,â she said after the match, Seven reported.
âThereâs no argument now that people arenât interested; people are interested. The numbers are there. Kids are playing. People want to be watching the sport.
âSo yeah, hopefully, this has just been enough to prove that and to create the argument and to improve facilities, improve standards for women in football, football in general,â Catley added.
Australia manager Tony Gustavsson agreed with his playersâ pleas for improved funding.
âThis is not the end of something, this needs to be the start of something, and with that comes money as well,â Gustavsson told reporters.
Sarina Wiegman, the Dutch manager of Englandâs Lionesses, was also asked how Australia could take advantage of the teamâs successful World Cup run.
âNow is where (Australia) has to take the next step,â Wiegman said. âWhat does this bring? I donât have all the context, but how can Australia grow the game for little kids? (For) boys and girls, especially girls from six to adult players?
âHow can they support that and get better situations and better facilities for everyone? And the professional game, of course. This gives a boost and gets people interested in supporting the womenâs game.â