The refusal of Football Federation Australia (FFA) to address the concerns of the Matildas through a new collective bargaining agreement has seen the Matildas withdraw from the upcoming USA tour under the terms offered by FFA.
Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) Chief Executive Adam Vivian informed FFA of the players’ decision immediately following a mass meeting of the Matildas this afternoon.
“The players are currently uncontracted and are under no obligation to participate in any Matildas related activities,” said Vivian.
“The players feel they have been left with no option other than to take this course of action. They were hopeful that FFA’s position would alter following yesterday’s breakdown in negotiations. However, the interim letter agreement offered to the players this afternoon, with a 6pm deadline, proved this had not been the case.
“As a result, the players rejected FFA’s proposal for the tour, which would have:
>> not provided the requisite a high performance environment;
>> failed to fairly remunerate them for the work they were being asked to undertake; and
>> provided them with no contractual certainty following the conclusion of the tour.
“The offer from FFA was simply unacceptable. The players stance will not change until a new agreement is reached.
“The A-League and Socceroos players have also expressed their full support for the Matildas in their pursuit of a deal that respects their contribution to the game.”
