'I'm just nervous':Sam Kerr and the rest of Australia face an anxious wait for the vote for the 2023 Women's World Cup.Credit:Getty
In the early hours of Friday morning,Kerr could hear the news she believes could change Australian football:Australia and New Zealand winning the rights to host the 2023 Women's World Cup.
The trans-Tasman bid is vying against Colombia to host the next World Cup and enters the FIFA vote as the public favourite,having been evaluated as thestronger bid on the grounds of finances,stadia,facilities,security and fan zones. If the 35 eligible voters on FIFA's council agree with the public sentiment,the notoriously calm Kerr says she will struggle to contain her emotions. It's not so much because it will give her the chance to lead her country in a World Cup on home soil,but because the tournament could finally unlock the potential within Australian football.
"The reason we are nervous is because we want it so badly and we care so much,"Kerr said."The benefits will be huge. You can’t begin to think what it would do for football,but just for young girls and boys in general it will be massive to see the best of women’s football coming to Australia and playing on our home soil."
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The forecasted impacts include a surge in female participation in Australia that could lead to a 50/50 gender representation by 2027. That demand could unlock government funding for facilities,and generate widespread interest in the games that would help accelerate the growth of professionalism of elite players.
When Kerr made her debut for the Matildas in 2009,Australia's best female players lived on the breadline. They subsidised meagre salaries with part-time jobs,juggled playing for two clubs in Australia and the US in a single year along with a congested international schedule and were offered little support.
Kerr's situation today is different;a star of the game,a face of Nike,playing solely for Chelsea,earning full-time salaries in the UK and with the Matildas and she is far from alone.