• Ten years on from the Matildas’ historic strike, women’s football faces another pivotal moment as the A-League Women struggles to keep pace with global growth.
  • Despite soaring interest and investment opportunities, ALW players remain the lowest-paid team athletes in Australia, with part-time conditions threatening talent retention and league competitiveness.
  • PFA Chief Executive Beau Busch summarises why urgent change is needed and how building a fully professional league is essential to attract players, fans, sponsors and secure the future of the game.

By Beau Busch, PFA Chief Executive

September 2025 marked 10 years since the Matildas’ historic strike that reshaped women’s football in Australia. 

In 2015, just months after their standout FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign, the Matildas refused to accept the status quo. 

Despite working full-time hours, players representing the national team earned a paltry $21,000 a year.  
 
They juggled second jobs to make end meets – Katrina Gorry as a barista, Lydia Williams as a zoo guide – while many lived with parents to make ends meet. 

The players’ vision was clear: there was an urgent need to move toward a sustainable future – for themselves, and future generations of players. 

Football Federation Australia resisted. Negotiations over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that would meet the players’ ambitions, stalled.  

Faced with a choice – accept the status quo, or fight – the Matildas chose defiance.  

They boycotted a scheduled tour against world champions USA, becoming the first national team in Australian history to strike. 

The strike transformed the Matildas into a footballing and commercial powerhouse, benefiting the players, the once-resistant governing body and the game. 

Today, the Matildas are not only Australia’s most loved women’s team, they are the country’s most loved sporting team. 

Their success on and off the pitch has attracted record crowds, sponsorship and fans. They, alongside the Socceroos, are FA’s economic engine. 

Ten years on, their stand is a reminder that progress often begins with a clear vision for a better future, and the courage to pursue it in the face of opposition. 

But while the Matildas have flourished, Australia’s domestic league is yet to. 

On the eve of the 18th season of the A-League Women, we find our women’s competition at a critical moment in its history.  

How a full-time A-League Women competition would pay for itself almost immediately. We explain below.

As was the case in 2015, change is both necessary and inevitable.  

Globally there has been an explosion into women’s football leagues. 

Interest in the Matildas has surged as has interest in football across the country. 
 
Women’s transfer fees and prize money are growing exponentially; FIFA Club World Cup Benefits will follow suit. Sponsors and governments want to harness our sport to grow their brands, positively impact the community and tackle important social issues.  

To date, the game has been too slow to recognise the generational opportunity before us by investing in the A-League Women. 

Our annual PFA ALW Report, which will be released in the coming month, makes for sobering reading. It lays bare that the pace of progress has not been sufficient and that incremental growth won’t cut it. 

The Report will reveal that our ALW players are now the lowest-paid athletes in team sport in Australia.  
 
Players are constantly under strain from part-time commitments, and the growing threat of international competitors erodes our talent base. The result is that the competition is now the least preferred of any leagues around the world amongst its own players.  

Just like Lydia and Katrina in 2015, players race off to work after training and take unpaid leave to train and travel. Just like in 2015, a lack of ambition and belief in our women’s league is hurting the players and hurting the game.  

The burning platform for urgently needed change is clear.  

Change starts with building the ALW around full-time professional players. It is a pre-condition to attracting and retaining the best possible players who are fundamental to driving fan, sponsor, government and broadcast interests.  

Once again, the PFA will fight for the future of the game. We will continue to push for better governance, better experiences for the fans, more investment and better conditions for the players themselves.  

Because we know that this is about more than football. It’s about our future.  

The players are willing to fight for a better future, but they shouldn’t have to when it is obvious that we all win through progress. This does not have to be a battle amongst us, but rather one we collectively tackle.  

This season marks the start of our moment of change towards a new and better future. Beyond this season, a new world awaits us.