Australia got behind the Matildas at the World Cup like few other national teams, but it seems there needs to be some cold hard reality about women’s sport and fans.
Sports commentators are asking fans not to ask players for their jerseys. Signs have been spotted all over the ground begging players for their jerseys at the end of the Olympic qualifying games.
Sounds all very wholesome, unfortunately women’s sport doesn’t work like men’s sport and some of those second-tier players are only give a couple of jerseys each, and certainly not enough to hand over one to an eager fan every game.
Women are also only paid a fraction of their male counterparts, so simply buying another for each game is out of the question.
Also while some of the high-profile players are on sponsorship deals, some of the lessor known players may only play a few international games a season, and holding on to a precious memory of playing in the national team could be important to them.
Apart from all that, those players have earnt those jerseys, maybe they want to keep them. Pressuring them to hand them over to fans makes it awkward all around.
If you want to support the team, go and buy a jersey, like you would for a men’s team.
What do you think, should fans ask for jerseys?
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