The players,who have been dubbed the ‘OGs’ by Puma,were reunited for the first time since 1975,supplied with branded tracksuits and shoes,and have also been provided tickets for Thursday night’s clash between Australia and Ireland. They will watch it with their New Zealand counterparts – despite the Football Ferns hosting Norway in the tournament’s opener in Auckland on the same day.
FA says it planned to produce similar video content highlighting the players’ contributions had they taken up the offer made to them last year. Gutstein confirmed that when Puma’s campaign launched,an FA executive made contact and warned them about not breaching the federation’s IP,including use of the term ‘Matildas’,the trademark for which is owned by FA.
The 1975 Australian XI is the centre of an ambush marketing campaign by Puma.Credit:Puma
Last month,FA submitted another trademark request for ‘Tillies’,a shortened version of the team’s nickname commonly used by fans.
FA said it did not “hold a view” on the Puma campaign as it didn’t infringe on any trademarks or their partnership with Nike,which was also contacted for comment.
FA’s board will review the 1975ers’ claims again after the World Cup,with the players believed to be undeterred in their pursuit of further recognition – despite FA’s historians and some ex-Matildas,while recognising the significance of their achievements,believing they are overreaching by demanding numbered caps.
“With regard to the debate,that’s really not our call at all,” said Gutstein. “We just think that they have an amazing story. It’s a wonderful year to celebrate and share that story.” Puma sponsors only two of the 32 teams at the World Cup,while Adidas has a longstanding deal with FIFA.
Inaugural Matildas captain Julie Dolan,who holds cap No.1,at the FIFA Women’s World Cup draw last year.Credit:Getty
Unnumbered caps were also recently offered to – and accepted by – the 1978 Australian team,which FA says was the first senior women’s side selected through a national process,but since they competed against club teams at an invitational tournament in Taiwan that year,and not against other nations,those matches are also not seen as full ‘A’ internationals.
Of the 16 players from the 1975 team,two have since passed away,as has coach O’Connor,and only three went on to earn numbered caps by playing in full ‘A’ international matches. Inaugural Matildas captain Julie Dolan was one of them,andfeatured in the 1979 clash against New Zealand that FA recognises as the Matildas’ first ‘A’ international,as well as the 1978 team.
Dolan is not involved with the Puma campaign. She declined to comment;sources close to Dolan claim her family was verbally abused the last time she weighed in on the topic. Dolan is the holder of Matildas cap No.1,a status which has led to prominent roles in FA and FIFA activities at World Cup events,and one she would theoretically lose if the caps were to be reshuffled to accommodate the 1975ers – as some of her ex-teammates seem to insist should happen.
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In a public Facebook post,former FA director Heather Reid alleges the Puma campaign’s narrative “smacks of deception”,sparking a slanging match in the comments where 1975 player Trixie Tagg accuses her of trying to “rewrite our history” and describing the team’s treatment as that of “illegitimate cousins”. Others questioned what they said was an exclusionary approach.
Tagg saidin an article onThe Roar in 2020 that simply being acknowledged by FA – as they were last year – would “mean the world to us”,and that the players would never expect cap numbers to be changed.
In another post on a private Matildas Alumni group,seen by this masthead,one ex-player wrote:“Given the choice between honesty and kindness,most of us have chosen kindness. But after the Puma campaign ... it’s time for honesty.
“A team that isn’t nationally selected doesn’t pass the test to be classified as a national team – regardless of what colours they were allowed to wear. We all played many games in green&gold that weren’t classified as A international caps,for a whole range of reasons. A team where nobody else has an opportunity to be chosen simply isn’t a national team.
“Whoever is giving them false expectations is not doing them,or football,any favours. It’s sad to see this divide our game.”