2015 Australia women's national soccer team strike

April 2022 The 2015 Australia women's national soccer team strike was a two-month long strike by the players of the Australia women's national soccer team. Supported by the Professional Footballers Australia unions, the players successfully won improvements in pay and working conditions. It was the first time in history that an Australian national sporting team had gone on strike.Convery Stephanie The Matildas' pay dispute could spark real change https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-11/convery-the-matildas-pay-dispute-could-spark-real-change/6767916 23 September 2021 ABC News 11 Sep 2015 en-AU Background Women's soccer has been played in Australia since at least the 1880s, with competitions in the 1920s seeing significant success in drawing audiences. However, the global impact of the English Football Association ban on women's soccer then hit Australia, and the women's game entered a prolonged period of suppression.https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/sep/16/they-are-feminine-the-matildas-long-road-from-sexism-in-79-to-sellouts-in-17 'They ARE feminine': The Matildas' long road from sexism in '79 to sellouts in '17 TheGuardian.com 15 September 2017Connelly Paul 'They ARE feminine': the Matildas' long road from sexism in '79 to sellouts in '17 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/sep/16/they-are-feminine-the-matildas-long-road-from-sexism-in-79-to-sellouts-in-17 23 September 2021 the Guardian 15 September 2017 en The Australian Women's Soccer Association (AWSA) was founded in 1974 and Australia's first official international match was against New Zealand in October 1979. It would take until the 1983 OFC Women's Championship, however, for Australia to face a team other than New Zealand and until the 1987 Women's World Invitational Tournament to face European and American teams.A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football Williams Jean Jean Williams Berg Publishers 2007 978-1845206758 Waltzing the Matildas: Women's Football in Australia 165 The players at the time received no compensation and little support, having to sew themselves the own Australian crests onto the team tracksuits.http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/womens-world-cup-2015-remove-the-gender-lens-and-back-the-matildas-20150620-ghs6og.html Women's World Cup 2015: Remove the gender lens and back the Matildas The Sydney Morning Herald 20 June 2015 2 June 2016 The poor working conditions and lack of pay would continue throughout the 1990s, with players forced to train with second-hand equipment from the Socceroos, receiving few opportunities to practice, and with players even having to pay to be able to practice and travel with the team. In 1999, the players published a nude calendar in the hopes of raising funds for the team.https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/02/football/matildas-naked-calendar-australia-womens-football-womens-world-cup-france-2019-wwc-spt-intl/index.html From nude calendars to title contenders: The Matildas' long road to success Aimee Lewis CNN 2 June 2019 Following the 2000 Olympics, the Australian national team entered a period of turmoil, playing no games in 2001, many veteran players retiring, and with the AWSA going defunct, being absorbed by Soccer Australia (current Football Federation Australia).http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/23/1042911497402.html Waltzing a fine line The Sydney Morning Herald 24 January 2003 2 June 2016 In the 2010s, the national team began a period of sustained success. At the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup, they became the first Australian senior national soccer team (men or women) to make a final in the AFC and then became the first ever Australian soccer team to win in Asia after defeating North Korea in the final. At the 2011 FIFA World Cup, Caitlin Foord was awarded Best Young Player of the tournament. The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was held in Canada from 6 June to 5 July 2015. Prior to the World Cup, the Australian national team players had been required to go through a full-time six-month training programme. Despite the significantly increased workload, however, the programme came without any change in pay for the players, forcing several to lose their employment elsewhere.https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sport/football/article/2015/08/13/job-security-concerns-matildas-pay-saga-drags Job security concerns Matildas as pay saga drags on Topics Under the expiring collective bargaining agreement ("CBA"), the maximum pay for the Australian players that year was $21,000, significantly under the Australian minimum wage and significantly less than the highest salaries of the men's team, which reached over $200,000.http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/sep/15/how-much-are-australias-male-and-female-sports-teams-paid How much are Australia's male and female sports teams paid? September 15, 2015 the GuardianIson Rebekah McKay Ben Matildas vs Socceroos: the gender pay gap https://thenewdaily.com.au/sport/football/2015/06/24/matildas-v-socceroos-incredible-pay-gap/ 23 September 2021 The New Daily 24 June 2015 The Australian team went on to make it to the quarter=finals of the World Cup, losing to Japan. Strike In September 2015, the Australian women's national team was scheduled for a tour of the United States, including a couple of friendlies against the USWNT.https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sport/football/article/2015/07/22/matildas-face-world-champion-usa Matildas to face world champion USA Topics A training camp in preparation for the tour was scheduled to take place in Sydney in early September. On 8 September 2015, the players announced that they would not be attending the camp after negotiations with Football Federation Australia over a new CBA broke down. The players' union, the Professional Footballers Australia, released a statement saying that: "Following the expiration of the Matildas CBA, the players are under no contractual obligation to undertake any Matildas related activities. FFA has failed to recognise the significant sacrifices the Matildas players are forced to make in playing for their country."https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sport/football/article/2015/09/08/matildas-go-strike-put-usa-games-jeopardy Matildas go on strike to put USA games in jeopardy Topics The players equally announced that they would be striking until they received better pay and working conditions. The key demands of the players were: For the CBA to contain basic minimum standards, such as setting the level of commitment expected from the players in accordance with the pay they receive; Equal pay; Increases in spending on air travel, accommodation and benefits; Better development opportunities for youth players.http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/11/matildas-player-strike-what-are-the-key-pay-demands-and-disputes-ahead Matildas player strike: what are the key pay demands and disputes ahead? September 11, 2015 the Guardian A few hours after the announcement of the strike, Football Federation Australia released a statement condemning it, arguing that they "were presented with a fresh set of demands that amount to millions of dollars of unfunded commitments" and that the players had been "dragged into a dispute that’s primarily about the [men's] A-League".FFA fires broadside at PFA over Matildas boycott https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sport/football/article/2015/09/08/ffa-fires-broadside-pfa-over-matildas-boycott?cid=inbody:matildas-go-on-strike-to-put-usa-games-in-jeopardy 23 September 2021 SBS Source: Football Federation Australia 8 September 2015 en A small handful of national team players also indicated that they would be willing to break the strike, such as Lisa De Vanna, who stated that "at my age I am not sure if the opportunity to play the world champions will come up again."https://heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/matildas-strike-players-break-ranks-and-declare-they-want-to-tour-united-states/news-story/66bb97a1147d7b16231c9b7c33398a05 'I just want to play for my country' Matt Windley September 9, 2015 Most players, however, committed to the strike, with Teresa Polias stating that "we're asking for minimum wage, to sustain our lives off the pitch to do well on it. It's as simple as that."https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/inside-the-matildas-strike/6837756 Inside the Matildas' strike December 11, 2013 ABC Radio Nationalhttps://archive.thinkprogress.org/australian-womens-soccer-team-fights-for-respect-goes-on-strike-ea247c09a220/ Australian Women's Soccer Team Fights For Respect, Goes On Strike In mid-September, it was announced that the Haiti women's national football team would replace the Matildas for the friendlies against the USWNT.https://www.si.com/soccer/2015/09/10/uswnt-australia-us-soccer-friendlies-detroit-birmingham Haiti, not Australia, to play USWNT S. I. Staff Sports Illustrated Several USWNT players expressed their support for the strike, such as Abby Wambach, who stated that the Australians were "empowering themselves and they're empowering the next generation of women coming behind them to stand up and speak up for what is right and what they think that they deserve."https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2015/09/us_womens_soccer_disappointed.html U.S. women's soccer 'disappointed' Australia can't play, Wambach supports the strike September 17, 2015 mlive On 16 October, the ABC revealed that former players had previously had to go on welfare benefits to make ends meet while playing for the national team. A few days later, FFA president David Gallop told the ABC that the Federation would offer the players pay equal to minimum wage, but stated that "it’s always problematic when you talk about a minimum wage because it denotes that they’re full time contracts" and that he expected that several players would still have to find second jobs to make ends meet.Dingle Sarah Matildas Strike: team members told to go on the dole, says retired player https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/matildas-strike-team-members-told-to-go-on-the/6859470 23 September 2021 ABC Radio 16 October 2015 en-AU On 6 November, the PFA signed a new agreement with the FFA, resolving the strike. The new agreement included a significant pay rise, the maximum salary rising to $41,000 a year. The new agreement also included substantial increases in investment into the women's game and improved working conditions.https://thewomensgame.com/news/ffa-agree-new-cba-with-matildas-receiving-pay-increase-483587 FFA agree new CBA with Matildas receiving pay increase The Women's Game After the agreement was struck, Hayley Raso stated that the strike was "something we had to do".https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/matildas-strike-vindicated-by-pay-increase-says-midfielder-hayley-raso-20151109-gkucdk.html Matildas strike vindicated by pay increase, says midfielder Hayley Raso Daniel Cherny November 9, 2015 The Sydney Morning Herald Aftermath After the resolution of the strike, PFA chair Adam Vivian stated that the union intended to try and negotiate an increase to minimum wage for domestic W-League players as well, stating that "the Matildas have a problem with that too, they want to see equity among the playing group."https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2015/10/20/womens-football-to-benefit_n_8307836.html The National Sports League Where Women Can Earn Less Than A McDonald's Worker October 20, 2015 HuffPosthttps://theconversation.com/the-gender-pay-gap-for-the-fifa-world-cup-is-us-370-million-its-time-for-equity-118400 The gender pay gap for the FIFA World Cup is US$370 million. It's time for equity In 2018, the Professional Footballers Australia W-League report found that more than half of players were considering retiring early because of financial reasons.https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/gender/showing-them-the-money-why-the-matildas-pay-deal-is-a-triumph-for-all-20191106-p537wc.html Showing them the money: why the Matildas' pay deal is a triumph for all Fiona Crawford November 6, 2019 The Sydney Morning Herald In 2019, a new collective bargaining agreement was signed between Professional Footballers Australia and the Football Federation Australia.https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/matildas-equal-pay-deal-officially-announced_au_5dc22c08e4b0b0861f9046bc Australian Women's Soccer Team Will Finally Get Paid The Same As Men's Team Carly Williams HuffPost Australia November 6, 2019 HuffPosthttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-06/new-equal-pay-cba-between-matildas-and-socceroos/11676754 The details that make the Matildas' new pay deal truly 'momentous' Reuters Jean-Paul Pelissier ABC News November 6, 2019 www.abc.net.au The new CBA guaranteed equal split of all commercial revenues between the men's and women's national teams and a number of improvements to working conditions to bring the women's standards equal to the men's, including allowing business class for international travel, increased coaching support, and better parental leave policies.https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/06/sport/australia-womens-football-equal-pay-intl-hnk/index.html Australia's women footballers get equal pay in landmark deal Helen Regan CNN 6 November 2019https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/soccer-shows-equal-pay-for-women-is-no-pipedream-20191106-p537zz.html Soccer shows equal pay for women is no pipedream The Herald's View November 6, 2019 The Sydney Morning Herald See also U.S. women's national soccer team pay discrimination claim 2017 Denmark women's national football team strike References Category:Labour disputes in Australia Category:2015–16 in Australian women's soccer Category:2015 labor disputes and strikes Category:Sports labor disputes Category:September 2015 in Australia Category:October 2015 in Australia Category:November 2015 in Australia