Can I fall in love with soccer before July 20 when the Women's World Cup kicks off? I don't know if I can.
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With my son off playing rugby across the ditch this season, my Saturday afternoons have taken a bizarre turn and more often than not I find myself sitting next to my lovely daughter watching her lovely boyfriend play soccer.
And I'm bored senseless.
Yes, it's very pleasant sitting out in the sunshine chit-chatting with my daughter; and of course it's nice watching her boyfriend doing something he loves, given he loves my daughter.
But it's soccer.
![Hopefully the Matildas will be celebrating more goals at the Women's World Cup. Picture Getty Images Hopefully the Matildas will be celebrating more goals at the Women's World Cup. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/e7fc26cc-df04-42fd-afd1-c24d6f6cff82.jpg/r0_0_5752_3247_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Sure, the standard we're watching is nowhere near World Cup level. Light years apart. But all the cliches I associate with soccer are on display. The low scores, the diving, the fake drama. It's a game I just can't connect with.
I did watch some of the men's World Cup matches back in 2022. The final was one of the best games of sport I've ever watched. But then so was the 1999 World Netball Championship final between Australia and New Zealand when Sharelle McMahon scored the winning goal with two seconds on the clock. And netball is another sport I can't connect with.
Sometimes a match can transcend the actual sport that's being played. Ironic, perhaps, that it does become all about the drama, the contest, the competition.
We all remember a Wimbledon final that's gone to five sets, or a cricket test match that we've stayed up late for, some Winter Olympic ice skating routine that we still think of when we hear a certain piece of music.
But I'd never turn the television on to watch any old soccer game. I'd rather switch on Ted Lasso. Perhaps that's a little ironic too.
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I think the only reason I was slightly invested in the men's World Cup in Qatar was because of Lionel Messi. I loved his story, the aging king. I can't recall ever having seen him play before, but I was mesmerised by the way he played, his ability to sit back and control the play, injecting himself at crucial times. Such a fairytale finish.
But could I name any player in the Socceroos squad? Nope.
And I can only name Sam Kerr in the women's squad. Which is really sad.
Because you know I'm an advocate of women's sport and a firm believer in the idea that it plays an important role in the lives of girls and women right through every stage of life.
This World Cup, held here on Australian soil and in New Zealand, is a grand opportunity for the sport to inspire millions of girls across the world to pull on a pair of sneakers, get some friends to the park and kick a ball around. Find all the joy that comes from being part of a team, alongside your girl gang, doing something fun.
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Perhaps it's even more ironic that one of the favourite memories from my own sporting childhood involves me and my girl gang doing just that. I played soccer at school (I actually played every sport on offer at school, it was always a good way to get out of class). We weren't very flash at all. One day we headed over to Bathurst to play Bathurst High School, our rivals in many, many things. Most of us were in about Year 9 or 10. And the game was played inside Bathurst jail. Yep. Pouring rain, teenage girls, white t-shirts, inmates watching. What could go wrong? Well, nothing did. I think we won. But 40 years on, and for all the sports I've played since, I have never played in front of such an enthusiastic and vocal crowd.
One thing I do love about a World Cup, whatever sport it involves, is that it draws countries from all over the globe, in a celebration that transcends what happens on the field.
What a great platform for women from countries such as Haiti, Morocco, the Philippines, Vietnam and Zambia to line up against powerhouses such as the United States, England, Germany and France in this World Cup.
For all the issues that gender equality raises, in sport, in society, I love it that for 90 minutes it's just us versus them.
It's incredibly important, at whatever level of whatever sport you're playing, that all women have that opportunity to just be a goal keeper, or a striker, or midfielder, and work with friends for a common goal.
Perhaps this is why I will tune in to the World Cup coverage on Channel 7 when it starts on July 20. The Matildas' first game is that night at 8pm, against the Republic of Ireland.
I'll forget about the actual game being played and focus on all the other things sport means.
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