I don't think we'll see retired world-class players move to the Dub any time soon unfortunately given that the league is still semi-professional as it's more lucrative for them to be playing elsewhere instead.
Mexico gets some marquees. Wonder what they’re paying.
I don’t think we will be seeing retired Matildas players either unless there is financial backing from an unknown (FA?) source.
Most of the marquee players in Liga MX Femenil are in the twilight of their careers or have been loaned out from European and NWSL sides to further their development and get more game time though but salaries would be similar to those in the Dub.
So why can’t we do that here if they do it there? Players like Jenni Hormoso and Eugénie Le Sommer are playing in Liga MX.
Liga MX Femenil manages to attract world-class marquee players because it's a professional league whereas the A-League Women is still semi-professional and we can't attract the best players if we haven't achieved full-time professionalism yet.
But foreign players would be taking up space in squads that should be available to local players which would hurt the development of the Matildas.
If foreign players are taking up list spots that should be available to local players then the A-League Women can just implement a foreign player quota which would alleviate those problems and ensure that the Matildas continue to develop in a way which allows us to contend for major trophies in addition to improving the quality of our youth prospects.
We already have a quota. It’s five non-Aussie citizens per team, except for the Nix who have five non-Kiwi citizens. Kayla Morrison is exempt cause she got citizenship.
With the existing foreign player quota already in place in the Dub then the next step would be to make the rules more stringent and stipulate that teams can only field a certain number of foreign players in a match which would mean that the youth prospects get more game time and therefore improves the quality of the homegrown talent pool which feeds into the Matildas system.
There is the conundrum, foreign players would attract publicity and, hopefully, increase crowds and viewership but would limit the opportunities for homegrown talent.
I dont agree that would be the case here in Australia.. The demographic that would/could be enticed to attend W league matches knows the Matildas as cultural touch points as well as footballers.. I doubt they would know more than a hand full of overseas players..
I think the publicity that they would attract would help to offset that particularly if they come from the USA.
Maybe.... I mean Im a football tragic and barely know a dozen or so women's players so not best placed to comment... but I guess social media and all that hype might appeal?
Social media is where it’s at for the young people. For us oldies I think a much more comprehensive cover of the ALW on YouTube would be of great benefit.We are never going to get anything from legacy media but, as I said, the internet is the only source of information for the young.
Surely you'll know some players in the Dub already like Chelsea Blissett and Melina Ayres who both have at least a year's worth of service time in the South Melbourne system and are part of the storied history of the Hellas women's team.
Agree that social media is the main method of marketing the A-League Women especially to the younger demographic but there needs to be diversification of the marketing methods if they want to attract a wide range of supporters to follow Dub matches throughout the season.
It’s one example but Heather Hinz is extremely popular among Sydney FC fans despite being American in Australia at the worst possible time.
This is definitely a big point. Billboards and YouTube content would attract a broad audience but social media targets more of a younger demographic. To appeal more to the older generations there’d need to be ads on TV and stuff.