Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) has called for Australian football to be the leader in addressing the issue of gender equity to mark International Women’s Day.

With this year’s campaign theme being #PledgeforParity, PFA Chairman Craig Foster said football’s capacity to be an important symbol for women in our society is unparallelled.

“Football’s universal values are yet to be extended to men and women in equal measure,” said Foster. “International Women’s Day provides the perfect opportunity for the game to reflect on foundational questions of fairness and equality.

“The Matildas continue to extraordinarily demonstrate the capacity of elite female players. The potential of the women’s game is enormous, however, growth in scale and participation, while worthy aims and powerful demonstrations of the continued development of football as the Australian game of the 21st century, are not enough. True parity necessitates a cultural shift in how our female players are viewed and the resources they are afforded in the pursuit of excellence.

“Australian women must know that a football career will provide opportunities for an outstanding quality of life both competitively and through education and post career opportunities. This is fundamental if the game is to attract and retain the nation’s most talented athletes.”

PFA Player Relations Executive Kathryn Gill said International Women’s Day provided the ideal opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made but also on how far there remains to go to address the issue of gender equity.

“Through the historic action taken by the Matildas in 2015 we have made significant headway, but remain a considerable distance from parity. It will require significant effort and the starting point is shared ambition,” said Gill.

“There is a growing appetite for the women’s game. We must convert this into a meaningful career for our players, specifically in the W-League, and we can no longer accept excuses.

“The Matildas’ exceptional performances stand as testimony to football as a transformative symbol for women in Australian society.”

 

MEDIA

Beau Busch | Media and Communications Manager

PH: +61 (0) 432 763 485

E: beau@pfa.net.au