Matildas to break more records in Women’s World Cup

Organisers and broadcasters are expecting record-breaking audiences across Australia for the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-final on Saturday afternoon.

Channel Seven has adjusted their programming to cater for the demand to watch the Matildas face France.

The news bulletin has been pushed back to run after the Matildas game, with the AFL game to be broadcast after the news.

The Matildas wrote in a statement that the game would be, “shown live and free on the main channel in all markets, where the respective 6.00 pm News Bulletin will be shown at the completion of the match, irrespective of when that will be”.

The move is considered rare for women’s sports.

Georgie Parker, former Hockeyroos player, described network’s decision as “huge” and “unprecedented”.

This comes after the Matildas’ win against Denmark on Monday night broke a new record for free-to-air ratings in Australia for the year.

It marked one of the largest crowds for women’s football in Australia’s history.

Seven Melbourne managing director and head of network sport, Lewis Martin, has said he expects this to be another record-breaking match.

“This Saturday will be a historic moment for all Australians, and the biggest night of sport since Sydney 2000 [Olympics],” he said.

Meanwhile, there has reportedly been a huge increase in sales for Matildas jerseys and team apparel.

“Anything that is related to the cup and the Matildas, people are coming for it,” said Rodrigo Alvim, the manager of Ultra Football in Sydney.

“It’s very good for the game, and especially women’s football.”

The Women’s World Cup quarter-final will kick off at 5pm on Saturday 12 August (AEST) at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

There are a number of public viewing sites in major Australian cities where the match will be broadcast on a big screen.

A win would send the Matildas to the semi-finals.