Caitlin Foord … golden generation. Photo: Getty Images
Should A-League club owners decide to axe their W-League sides to save a few dollars, it could cost Australia their chance to win the Women's World Cup.
The W-League came into being after the Matildas' first foray into the World Cup quarter-finals in 2007, so that women had a first-class league in which to play between World Cups. In 2010, the Matildas won the Asian Cup. They again made the World Cup quarter-finals last year - and rose to No.10 in the world. For those unable to pick it, this is an upward trend. None of that would have happened without the semi-professional league in which all the national players compete.
The cost of running a W-League team is estimated at $90,000 for a three-month season - while club owners are estimated to be losing about $2 million a season. Cutting their W-League teams is not going to get them in the black.
The women who play in the W-League are desperate for it to be expanded. Today's news that club owners are contemplating withdrawing their women's teams is a slap in the face for those who sacrificed good careers to play for their country.
The sport needs a W-League. Football has a strong foothold among young girls who want to emulate Melissa Barbieri and Kyah Simon and play for their country. But if there is no league in which to compete, what is there to look forward to?
If football wants to retain its place among the better sports for women to pursue, Football Federation Australia will need to underwrite the W-League, or the club owners will need to be convinced the bigger picture is worth it. If there was ever a time for Frank Lowy to pull out his wallet, it could be now. And he can bid to host the 2019 Women's World Cup while he is at it.
Matildas coach Tom Sermanni rightly took eight very young players to Germany last year so they would be ready for the next two World Cups. Much is expected of the so-called golden generation of Matildas - built around youngsters Caitlin Foord (17), Emily van Egmond (18), Sam Kerr (18), Teigen Allen (18), Simon (20), Elise Kellond-Knight (21), Ellyse Perry (21), and Tameka Butt (20).
Imagine Foord, the best young player in the world, holding aloft that World Cup in Sydney in 2019.
Asked recently if those women would one day win a World Cup, Matildas captain Barbieri said: ''Definitely. And I think we have the calibre of players to do so.''
We won't if there is no W-League.
Twitter: @KathrynWicksSMH
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