Where were you when Cortnee Vine slotted away the winning penalty to take the Matildas to the semi-finals of the World Cup? That’s the question we expect our kids to be asking us someday, as the power of that particular moment transcends generations and takes its place in Australian sporting folklore. This article is brought to you by Athena Nutrition.
Women’s sport in our nation
The Matildas’ run at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup wasn’t the first indication that women’s sport was about to sweep through the nation, but it was certainly when most of us realised that the revolution had arrived. The 2023 World Cup reached an audience of two billion people, making it the most-watched women’s sporting event ever. Since then, there each of the Matildas game are sold out events. And, in the aftermath of the World Cup, the federal government also pledged $200 million to improving women’s sport facilities and equipment – a sign that lasting change was on the horizon.
But it isn’t just women’s football that is experiencing growth. Even before the Matildas mania, the Australian women’s cricket team have delivered over and above. In 2017, a landmark deal was reached with Cricket Australia that resulted in the biggest pay rise in the history of women’s sport in the country. The gender equity pay model, as it was called, saw female player payments increase from a total of $7.5 million to $55.2 million. It’s developments like this that are driving the increasing professionalisation of women’s sport, something that Ellyse Perry touched on during our cover story on the Australian women’s cricket team.
“I remember the first time I played in the Australian team and there was a left-handed batter who worked for Australia Post. We had physios, we had schoolteachers, people who worked in game development, accountants, lawyers; everyone with other professions,” Perry said. “It was amazing to see them still playing at that level but obviously it was because they needed to work because there wasn’t that income coming from cricket.”
Equity and the future
While not every sport has achieved equitable pay, there are promising signs coming from some of Australia’s most popular domestic leagues. Since 2021, the NRLW has expanded from four teams to 12. The AFLW has also expanded from an initial eight teams in 2017 to 18 in 2025, with every men’s team now boasting a women’s affiliate.
But even with successes under out belt, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for women’s sport. Disparities persist in many leagues concerning pay and sponsorship, while grassroots investment remains an common underlying issue.
The Matildas may sellout every home game, but the A-League Women has only averaged an attendance of 1,574 during the 2024-25 season, a startlingly low figure that throws the long-term sustainability of the league into question. The NRLW and AFLW are a long way from achieving equal pay, and many barriers remain that prevent women from getting into sport, with more funding and better access to sporting facilities necessary to improve the state of play.
Greater research into elite women’s sport is also necessary for growth. Particularly sport science and medicine, which require further funding and examination in regards to female athletes. Interestingly, this is a fairly widely known shortcoming, and it’s been dubbed the ‘research gap’. Much of the field of sports science has evolved to meet the needs of male athletes, with studies often exclude women or treat them as special cases, leading to underrepresentation and that all-important lack of knowledge.
A part of the solution
So, yes, the barriers still exist, but the good news? They can be overcome. How? Primarily through improving pathways to professional sport for women. That’s what sports nutrition brand Athena Nutrition is striving to do with its ‘Fuelling Futures Program’, essentially helping women to take that next step in their sporting careers.
The brand is dedicated to supporting female athletes and understands that many of the roadblocks to going pro extend beyond the playing field, with travel costs, registration fees, expensive gear and top-tier nutrition, all of which price many athletes out of a potential pro career.
As part of the Fuelling Futures Program, Athena will select five athletes to receive a support package to help them take the next step. The package includes $5,000 in direct financial support, a one year supply of Athena nutrition products, Athena merch, and a one-on-one consultation with a sports dietician.
With support like that, the golden age of women’s sport is well within reach, and we’re already on our way.
This article is brought to you by Athena Nutrition.
Applications for the Athena Fuelling Futures Program are open now and close on April 14th. You can find more information on how to apply here.
