HONG KONG
\nNext year\u2019s Women\u2019s Asian Cup can help break down barriers for women in the region, a lead organiser told media, saying it will be the biggest tournament in its history. Australia will host the 12-team competition on March 1-21, having successfully staged the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup in 2023 along with New Zealand.
\nThat competition broke records on and off the pitch while women\u2019s football has boomed in Europe, with this summer\u2019s continental championships in Switzerland played out to unprecedented crowds.
\nSarah Walsh, an Australian former international player and now chief operating officer of the local organising committee for next year\u2019s tournament, admitted that Asia is playing catch-up in that respect.
\nSome countries in the region are lagging when it comes to gender equality in society, but football can play a part.
\n\u201cAny time we platform women, particularly on broadcast, or in the centre of the pitch when there\u2019s 40,000 people watching, absolutely (it can have a wider impact),\u201d Walsh said on the sidelines of a Hong Kong football conference.
\n\u201cThere are still inequalities in Australia, and I think that platforming the Matildas on the world stage and where 75 percent of Australians watch has a significant impact on social attitudes towards women.\u201d
\nSo when you think about that, of course it can also do it in other countries,\u201d she added.\u201d(Football) has that ability to progress things by putting women at the forefront.\u201d – \u2018Challenging\u2019 \u2013
\nThe Australian women\u2019s team, the Matildas, reached the semi-finals of their home World Cup two years ago and regularly draw sell-out crowds, even for friendlies.
\nTheir last-four defeat to England in Sydney was attended by 76,000 spectators while 11 million people — out of a population of 27 million — tuned in to watch.
\nThere is no concern about the locals turning out en masse again in March for the Matildas, but Walsh knows that \u201cit will be challenging to fill out the stadiums\u201d for some other games.
\n\u201cEurope is leading the way with the Euros, but I think that we have a lot of catching up to do as well,\u201d said Walsh. As well as the Matildas, Japan, North Korea and title-holders China will all be serious contenders.
\nAt the other end of the scale, Bangladesh are at the Women\u2019s Asian Cup for the first time. \u201cI spend more of my time thinking about this than anything else,\u201d said Walsh about how the tournament can replicate the kinds of crowds and interest generated by the European equivalent.
\nOrganisers have multiple solutions, including drawing on Australia\u2019s multi-cultural communities.
\nEarly ticket sales have been promising, said Walsh. She told the World Football Summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday that next year\u2019s 21st edition \u201cwill absolutely be the biggest Women\u2019s Asian Cup ever\u201d. But Walsh said a one-off successful tournament, including strong television audiences in Asia, is just the start.
\n\u201cYou only have to look at the investment that\u2019s happening, particularly in the Middle East, and how we think that might translate to women\u2019s football,\u201d she said, adding that while Saudi Arabia will not be at this Asian Cup, \u201cit\u2019s just a matter of time\u201d. \u201cIt\u2019s all moving in the right direction,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a responsibility as hosts — and also in my role on the AFC (Asian) women\u2019s committee — to make sure that this isn\u2019t just 21 days of fun but that we are progressing the development of the countries that are playing in the finals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HONG KONG Next year\u2019s Women\u2019s Asian Cup can help break down barriers for women in the region, a lead organiser told media, saying it will be the biggest tournament in its history. Australia will host the 12-team competition on March 1-21, having successfully staged the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup in 2023 along with New Zealand. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-501081","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n