Another step forward for women's football with W-League broadcast deal

Another step forward for women's football with W-League broadcast deal

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W-League matches will be broadcast on Fox Sports for the 2015-16 season after a deal was struck earlier in the week.

The broadcaster will show one W-League match as a curtain raiser to an A-League match on Sundays, creating a double header of football for fans.

The league’s broadcast future had been very much in jeopardy for the last eight months, with the ABC – the competition’s broadcaster since its inception in 2008 – axing the league from its coverage due to budgetary cuts.

Despite this, there is still potential for the Sunday match to be broadcast on free to air television, if a deal can be negotiated between Fox Sports and the ABC.

This deal is another positive step forward for women’s football in Australia, particularly after the Matildas’ historic run in the Women’s World Cup in Canada a month ago.

The Matildas became the first Australian senior national team to win a knockout match at the World Cup after their 1-0 victory over Brazil in the round of 16.

Although the team was unable to get past eventual runners up Japan in the quarter finals, the interest that has been generated in the women’s game, particularly the Matildas players, and the impressive ratings means there is an audience out there for the W-League.

Many of the stars from the Matildas will be playing for their Australian clubs, giving fans the chance to see their heroes in the flesh, week in and week out.

Each W-League club will get the opportunity to host a curtain raiser match, depending on their A-League counterpart’s fixture; a Sunday game for Adelaide United will mean the Lady Reds match will precede it.

However, this poses a problem for one of the W-League teams, defending champions Canberra United, who have no A-League affiliation.

To combat this, the club has announced it is looking into livestreaming all home matches, giving fans the opportunity to still watch matches and sponsors to still have exposure.

The W-League season will begin in October and for the first time feature nine teams, with Melbourne City joining the competition.

The newest team has already secured the services of Matildas co-captain Lisa De Vanna, after picking up the striker from cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory as their inaugural signing.

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