I spent my weekend binge-watching the new Disney+ docuseries on Australia’s women’s national team, but you might be thinking: “What has that got to do with Scotland and the Uefa Nations League?”
Well, the Matildas, as they are styled, delivered a lesson on how to build country-wide excitement around your national side when the opportunity arises.
The show opens as Australia find out they have won the honour of co-hosting the 2023 Women’s World Cup alongside New Zealand.
The six-episode series showcases their preparations for the upcoming major tournament (which starts in July), with the Matildas players candidly discussing the responsibility they feel as hosts to grow the women’s game.
They know a new era is on the horizon. A possible watershed moment after which women’s football Down Under will be never be the same.
The Matildas’ build-up has included a run of friendlies, catalogued by the programme, so boss Tony Gustavsson could ensure his team were ready for a potentially history-making World Cup campaign.
Those bounce games took place around Oz – with Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle, and Brisbane just some of the cities where fans – thousands upon thousands on each occasion – packed into stadiums and welcomed their national team.
The show made it clear some were fans who follow the Matildas wherever they go, but others were newcomers who had never seen those in the green and gold jersey play before.
This is where Scotland come into things.
In Europe, the next few months will see the inaugural Women’s Nations League get under way.
Scotland have been drawn in Group A1, and they will come up against some of the continent’s best in England, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Hampden is the women’s team’s home for competitive fixtures, which has it’s positives, but surely there is the potential to take some of the matches outside of Glasgow, and – like Australia – bring international women’s football action to prospective new fans for the first time?
We've been drawn in Group A1 for the inaugural UEFA Women's Nations League:
🏴 England
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇧🇪 Belgium
🏴 Scotland#SWNT pic.twitter.com/O02K6EuZFp— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) May 2, 2023
A clash against England at Hampden has the potential to break the attendance record which stands at 18,555 from the Scots’ World Cup send-off in 2019, but I reckon the other Nations League games could be played elsewhere.
Before Hampden became their home in 2021, the women’s national team played their games at stadiums in and around the Central Belt, but venturing north of Glasgow or Edinburgh was rare.
Attendances at Hampden haven’t been great over the last couple of years, despite the growth of the game.
We have to capitalise on the current interest, not waste it.
Take SWNT on tour round country
If games were played elsewhere, such as Aberdeen’s Pittodrie, I would almost guarantee you would get the diehard fans, who regularly go to Hampden, making the journey to Aberdeen, while you’d convince many more who would never think of going to the national stadium to go along because it’s in their own city, or at least more nearby.
There will be so many football fans in this country who have not seen their national team play in years (or at all) because they live outside of the greater Glasgow area.
The women’s team can be the ones to change that.
Imagine if Scotland captain, Aberdonian Rachel Corsie, got to skipper the side at the home turf of the club she supports. It would be a homecoming which shows all budding female players what can be achieved.
That old adage you have to see it, to be it springs to mind.
The Nations League isn’t just a chance to increase the support for Scotland, but it’s also an opportunity for Scottish football fans to see some of the best players in the world in the flesh.
Imagine if Tannadice welcomed a sea of fans donned in orange come September – but instead of Dundee United fans, it was the Dutch, who famously travel in big numbers, making the trip to Tayside to see their country face Scotland.
I was in Sheffield for the Netherlands’ Euros clash with Sweden at Bramall Lane and witnessed the sheer passion of their travelling support. It’s a buzz that could be harnessed beyond any 90 minutes.
We might not be hosting the World Cup like the Matildas, but we can take a leaf out of their book and look at the options at our disposal as we aim to grow the Tartan Army.
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