Australia’s women’s soccer team The Matildas have gone on strike, claiming they haven’t been paid for more than two months.
The elite sportswomen have been locked in a bitter pay dispute with Football Federation Australia (FFA) for seven months, claiming they are expected to undertake “full-time work on a part-time wage” without the access to elite training facilities and programmes the male Socceroos enjoy.
They also claim they haven’t been paid at all for the past eight weeks.
The Matildas say they feel “disrespected, hurt, offended and bullied” by the FFA, forcing them to make the unprecedented decision to walk out of a scheduled Sydney training camp ahead of next week’s tour of the US, which is now in doubt.
“This was an extremely difficult decision to make,” Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams said. “However it’s simply unfair to continue to expect us to make enormous sacrifices to play for Australia.
“For the past two months the players have been unpaid and have made every attempt to reach an agreement that gives the women’s game a platform for growth.
“This is about the future of Australian football. We want to establish football as the sport of choice for Australian women, and we want to be one of the best nations in the world.”
Thousands of Australians have come out in support of the women, with #ProtectThePlayers trending on Twitter.
The FFA has condemned Professional Footballers Australia for the strike action and accused it of reneging on previously agreed terms and making “new demands which are simply not affordable nor sensible”.
“It’s sad that the Matildas have been dragged into a dispute that’s primarily about the A-League,” FFA CEO David Gallop said in a statement.
