Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) salutes the football community’s shared commitment to build a World Cup Legacy for women in Professional Football, following yesterday’s successful 21st Century Town Hall Deliberation.
The joint PFA and Football Federation Australia (FFA) initiative, saw over 150 thought leaders from football, government, business and media join together to share ideas and strategies to build stronger careers and pathways for women in football.
Utilising innovative technology to synthesize the contributions of participants, the forum delivered a series of outcomes for the football industry to absorb into its planning as it heads into the bidding process for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
PFA Player Relations Executive and former Matildas captain Kate Gill said the event could act as a catalyst to energize the sport.
“To see so many people driven by how important women are to football was genuinely exciting,” said Gill.
“We had key leaders from across the community both contributing to the idea sourcing process, but also hearing the passion that people have for the role of women within football.
“Those of us who have been in the game for a generation know how great the players are and what they can offer, so it’s great to see our little secret is getting out. The emphasis on creating equality of opportunity and equality of reward was emphatic.”
PFA Chief Executive John Didulica said he was buoyed by the opportunity to work with stakeholders from across the sport and set a collaborative template for tackling the big opportunities that are present within football.
“What yesterday underlined was the importance of listening and really drawing on the perspectives and experiences of disparate people connected to football and more broadly to sport,” said Didulica.
“No sport has a greater pool of diversity to draw upon. It’s a huge asset for football and the interests of the players are best served by sharing our experiences and hearing the perspectives of others. Overwhelmingly, there was a shared commitment to give our elite women players every opportunity to have rich and fulfilling careers with the sport.”
