By I. Hansana, Jadetimes News
In 1975, an Australian women's football team traveled to Hong Kong to participate in what is now recognized as the first ever women's Asian Cup. Competing under the Australian coat of arms and wearing uniforms handed down from the Socceroos, they faced national teams from New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
They finished third, winning a bronze medal before an audience of over 10,000 spectators. Despite their appearance and performance as a national team, they have never been formally recognized by Football Australia (FA) as the first official Matildas.
In 2022, FA convened a panel of historians to determine the status of the 1975 team. The panel concluded that the team was not chosen through a national selection process organized by its governing body. Instead, most of the players came from the St George Budapest club, one of the most successful women's teams in New South Wales. The Australian Women's Soccer Association (AWSA), which managed women's soccer at the time, did not have the authority to sanction international activities, which was the responsibility of the Australian Soccer Federation (ASF).
When the Asian Ladies Football Confederation invited Australia to the Hong Kong tournament, Pat O'Connor, the AWSA secretary and captain of St George Budapest, nominated her club team to the ASF, which approved their participation. The media and tournament organizers referred to the team as the 'Australian' team, but officially it was a New South Wales club team.
Despite being a club team, members of the 1975 team have campaigned for recognition as the first official Matildas. This campaign intensified during the 2023 Women's World Cup. However, FA initially maintained that the 1975 team did not meet the criteria to be categorized as an Australian Senior Women's National Team.
Under new leadership, FA reconsidered and decided to recognize the 1975 team as the first official Matildas. FA formed a working group to develop criteria for recognizing national teams, which included official records, international games, player eligibility, and public perception. The working group recommended recognizing the 1975 team with 'A' international caps numbered "0", aligning with the recognition of the 1922 Australian men's team as the 'first Socceroos'.
FA's decision has significant implications, fundamentally rewriting the history of women's football in Australia. Julie Dolan, previously acknowledged as Australia's first captain, will now be cap 0, and Karen Menzies will lose her title as the first Indigenous Matilda to Aunty Tarita Yvonne Peters. Jim Selby will no longer be recognized as the first Matildas coach, a title now given to Joe O'Connor.
Dolan has publicly rejected FA's decision, arguing that the 1975 team was not a properly selected national team. In contrast, Pat O'Connor welcomed the recognition, emphasizing the team's pioneering efforts.
This decision raises questions about how national teams should be defined and recognized. It highlights the complexities of retroactively applying new criteria to historical events and the influence of governing bodies in shaping the narrative of sports history. The debate over the origins of the Matildas underscores the broader issue of who gets to decide history and how it should be remembered. FA's decision, intended to settle the debate, may instead perpetuate controversy and division within the Matildas' community.