Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) are proud to announce a partnership with the upcoming Stan Originals short documentary film Trailblazers, as their key football and impact campaign partner to #BlazeATrail for gender equality.
Trailblazers tells the amazing story of the fight for equality by Australia’s female footballers, which is executive produced by former Matilda and PFA Co-Chief Executive Kathryn Gill.
The documentary – which is being released in the lead-up to the Matildas’ upcoming campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics – celebrates the rise of women’s football in Australia.
It showcases the journey starting from the days of paying-to-play in front of tiny crowds, to playing in sold out stadiums and breaking television audience records during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, as a record 11 million people tuned in to watch their semi-final against England.
“Trailblazers offers the most authentic insight into the stories and journeys of generations of Matildas, from their emergence in 1975 to the global stars of today,” Gill said.
“Each generation has broken down barriers, challenged stereotypes and made countless sacrifices to pave the way for future generations. As the players’ union, we’re proud to be an impact partner to help share the incredible stories of the Matildas.
“This beloved team represented the best of what Australia can be, and opened the door to conversations around equality, participation and representation.”
The PFA, along with MECCA M POWER, Documentary Australia and Cool.org are proud partners of the documentary, which also “aims to build momentum to further progress gender equality and leadership, and to increase investment and opportunities for women and girls to participate in sport at all levels”, through its impact campaign.
The film will be shown in classrooms across the country, with educational resources developed for students in grades 5 to 10 by Cool.org, to help tackle themes of gender quality, media bias and representation.
There is also a Screenings Program, which will play a role in ensuring the conversation on gender in sports continues and is further progressed, in community sports clubs, elite sporting organisations, sport investor/sponsor organisations, sports related courses at a tertiary education level.
The film will be released on Stan on June 4. Watch the official trailer here.
