Australia may have had its dream of Women鈥檚 World Cup glory end on Wednesday following a 3-1 defeat to England, but that did not stop captain Sam Kerr from calling for more soccer funding in the country as it looks to take advantage of the boom in interest in the sport following the tournament.
鈥淲e are there, we鈥檙e right there,鈥� Kerr said to reporters in the immediate aftermath of the semifinal loss, according to Seven Network, a CNN affiliate. 鈥淚 can only speak for the Matildas. We need funding in our development. We need funding in our grassroots. We need funding. We need funding everywhere.
鈥淭he comparison to other sports isn鈥檛 really good enough, and hopefully, this tournament kind of changes that because that鈥檚 the legacy you leave 鈥� not what you do on the pitch.
鈥淭he legacy is what you do off the pitch. And hopefully, I mean, it鈥檚 hard to talk about now, but hopefully, this is the start of something new,鈥� Kerr added, according to Seven.
CNN has reached out to Football Australia who declined to comment but offered an interview opportunity at a future date. CNN has yet to receive a response from the Australian Sports Commission, the government agency responsible for supporting and investing in sport at all levels in the country.
The Australian women鈥檚 team made national history at the tournament, becoming the first team 鈥� men鈥檚 or women鈥檚 鈥� to reach a soccer World Cup semifinal.
The impact of the Matildas鈥� run is evidenced by the record-breaking viewing figures shared by the Seven Network who broadcasted the co-host鈥檚 games in Australia. Seven said the semifinal鈥檚 audience reached 11.15 million in Australia, with a national average audience of 7.13 million.
Those figures make the game the most watched TV program since the inception of OzTAM, Australia鈥檚 audience measurement system, Seven added.
According to Seven, the network鈥檚 coverage of the Women鈥檚 World Cup as a whole had reached 14.04 million viewers on broadcast alone, as well as a further 3.4 million via its streaming platform, 7plus.
Kerr鈥檚 vice-captain Steph Catley furthered the striker鈥檚 calls for better financial support of the sport. 鈥淲hen you look at football in general in Australia, football is very much not funded the way it should be,鈥� she said after the match, Seven reported.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no argument now that people aren鈥檛 interested; people are interested. The numbers are there. Kids are playing. People want to be watching the sport.
鈥淪o yeah, hopefully, this has just been enough to prove that and to create the argument and to improve facilities, improve standards for women in football, football in general,鈥� Catley added.
Australia manager Tony Gustavsson agreed with his players鈥� pleas for improved funding.
鈥淭his is not the end of something, this needs to be the start of something, and with that comes money as well,鈥� Gustavsson told reporters.
Sarina Wiegman, the Dutch manager of England鈥檚 Lionesses, was also asked how Australia could take advantage of the team鈥檚 successful World Cup run.
鈥淣ow is where (Australia) has to take the next step,鈥� Wiegman said. 鈥淲hat does this bring? I don鈥檛 have all the context, but how can Australia grow the game for little kids? (For) boys and girls, especially girls from six to adult players?
鈥淗ow can they support that and get better situations and better facilities for everyone? And the professional game, of course. This gives a boost and gets people interested in supporting the women鈥檚 game.鈥�
