City embracing opportunity of Women's ACL, as well as the potential windfall.
Melbourne City will host the first-ever Women's ACL fixture in Australia later this month; a new stage for the club, with continental glory on the line and, potentially, USD 1m in prize money.
One of the great, if not always fully utilised, strengths of Australian football has been its ability to operate as part of a broader ecosystem, allowing it to operate on a truly regional, continental, or global scale. Thus, as Melbourne City prepare to bring Women’s Asian Champions League (WACL) football Down Under for the first time later this month, hosting Taipei-based Taichung Blue Whale in a one-legged quarterfinal on March 23 there is optimism that this new stage will pave the way for greater opportunities for players, coaches and the game itself. Especially given there’s a USD 1m prize on offer to the inaugural winners of the tournament.
Introduced as a replacement competition for the AFC Women's Club Championship as part of a broader shake-up of Asian club competitions, 21 federations from around the confederation entered teams in this year’s debut tournament — eight sides, including City, qualifying automatically for the group stage and the other 13 staging a playoff for the remaining four slots.
“I grew up watching the UEFA Champions League, and back then, there wasn't a women's side of that,” City skipper Rebekah Stott said. “To be able to have our own continental Champions League is special, and something I didn't know was possible. To have little girls be able to watch us play in that competition, I think it's cool and gives them something to strive towards.”
To aid in their participation, all 12 sides that featured in the group stage received a USD 100k distribution from the AFC, with a further 80k to be distributed to quarterfinalists, 120k to semifinalists, 500k to the runner-up and a cool million set to go to the winner of the tournament.
For Australian clubs, this means the significant costs previously associated with competing in continental play – in both the women’s and men’s games – have been reduced, bringing into greater focus the opportunities that competition on an Asian-level can bring, both on the field and in the corporate section. Importantly, however, FIFA’s efforts to introduce a Women’s Club World Cup, also means that a global platform could await the winner of this year’s WACL – in either a 16-team version or a reported four-team soft launch in 2026.
Unlike in the men’s version, in which the Central Coast Mariners were eliminated from this year’s Asian Champions League Elite without winning a game, the relatively advanced state of women’s football in Australia means its domestic sides would be amongst the favourites to take out the Asian Champions League. And while it's unlikely that the global governing body would replicate the same level of prize money for its women’s Club World Cup as it would the men’s – it has been reported that every club that has qualified for 2025 Men’s Club World Cup will receive a USD 50m qualification fee – the potential revenue could still potentially be paradigm altering for cash-strapped A-Leagues clubs.
For players, meanwhile, the opportunities in Asia are obvious. More games, against better quality opposition, that provides a further opportunity to showcase their wares in front of overseas clubs and national team staff. But as part of a league in which the minimum wage remains AUD 25k, the salary cap is AUD 600k, and clubs don’t run full-time programs, triumph in the WACL could also, even without accounting for any further opportunities that arise, effectively double their wages.
“Ultimately, [greater integration with Asia] allows us to accelerate the growth [of women's football in Australia] more swiftly,” said Professional Footballers Australia chief executive Beau Busch. “It creates a point of difference to our rivals, whether it's AFLW or NRLW, too. It allows our players to test themselves at that higher level.
“A lot of these players, I'm sure every single one of them, want to follow in the footsteps of [City striker] Holly [McNamara] and others, to become national team players. This gives them a chance to be able to taste that and prepare for hopefully a long international career, but also to continue to push the level up of the A League Women’s as well.
“If [City] were to go all the way through and win the tournament – which we believe they're a very good chance, anyone that's watched them play at any match this season would attest to that – it could be as much as 50k [bonus] per player. That would be huge and significant for players. We're talking about the sort of average A-League Women's salary at the moment is under AUD 30k. That's a significant increase for those players and will allow them to invest more time into the sport.
“But also, importantly, for clubs like Melbourne City, this will allow them to continue to attract and retain talent, which ultimately we're in a battle for. It gives us a point of difference and another important revenue stream for the game, to be able to ensure it can invest into the careers of players.”
Given the potentially paradigm-shifting opportunity the WACL represents, perhaps it’s fitting that City are the first club to reach this new frontier in Australian women’s football. After all, they launched ticket sales for their meeting with Blue Whale amidst a record-equalling 18-game unbeaten run in league play and their entrance to the then-W-League in 2015, with their commitment to elite facilities and staffing levels, helped to drive the league to a new era of professionalism.
Under the leadership of Dario Vidosic, City booked their place in this season’s WACL when they pipped Sydney to the A-League Women premiership on the final day of the 2023-24 campaign. Following Vidosic’s move to Brighton, new coach Michael Matricciani guided them to the final eight last October, defeating Iranian side Bam Khatoon, Philippine outfit Kaya–Iloilo, and Thai club the College of Asian Scholars in a Bangkok hub.
The winner of their clash with Blue What will meet the victor of a meeting between Bam Khatoon and Korean side Incheon Red Angels in a May semifinal. Both semifinals and the final set to be staged in a central location, the winner of that game will then play in the decider three days later.
“First and foremost, it's about the team; it's the dream of any player to play internationally and to go as high as they can, as far as they can, on an international stage,” City chief executive Brad Rowse said. “Certainly for fans, it's massive for us to give fans the taste of success and be part of that journey with us.
“But no doubt, any international tournament is a global stage, and it helps raise the profile of all the girls and our coaches. And we've had great success already with our coaches being recognized globally and being offered gigs overseas. All of that helps, helps put our brand and our team, and also the A League, on the map as well.”
AAMI Park serving as one of a handful of Victorian venues that meets AFC broadcasting requirements without needing alterations, Rowse said that he was thrilled that City would be able to play their quarterfinal at the venue, which serves as one of their two home grounds during the A-League Women season.
“We're thrilled that it's here,” said Rowse. “The requirements for a venue for this competition are quite stringent, with broadcast quality, lighting and all the requirements required to run the competition. So there's not many venues in Victoria that can host it, but we're delighted AAMI Park is available because it's where our girls play and it gives them a distinct homegrown advantage.
“The more people we can get, the more young girls, the more participants, more grassroots kids coming along to watch it, the better, because we want to create that home atmosphere. We certainly want to get as many people in here to make as much noise as possible, to make it feel like home.”
Additionally, City will partner with members of the Socceroos and Matildas – plenty of the latter, especially, having played at the club at one point or another – to help drive attendance.
“Recently, I was in camp with the Matildas, and this is something we discussed with the players about how important this opportunity is,” added Busch. “This is something that a number of the Socceroos, we've discussed with the Matildas as well, too, and they see this as a really important moment for the sport. This is something that they're certainly hugely supportive of. A number of them will be doing videos and the like to be able to promote and drive attendance to the match as well.
“Everybody within the sport recognizes how important this is.
“We want to make sure the players have a crowd that matches the occasion.”