What start-ups can learn from the Matildas seemingly meteoric rise
Women’s football is in the spotlight this month as the FIFA World cup plays out across Australia and New Zealand. A record crowd turned out to watch the Matilda’s in the World Cup opener in Sydney last month - 75,784 fans, the Matilda’s largest crowd ever and the world’s 9th largest women’s football attendance of all time. It’s hard not to get overexcited about this event, even for those who’ve never attended a football match. What this competition represents is more than women’s football – the attention it has garnered represents the change in attitude to female athletes and women in sport in general, something that is good for everyone!
When I started working in elite sport at the Victorian Institute of Sport in 2003, the Matilda’s goalkeeper worked on reception to support her football career and the Women’s National Soccer League was about to fold (2004), leaving a huge hole in the national women’s competition. In 2005, I was approached by the CEO of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) to write a plan for a high-performance athlete wellbeing program that supported athletes to manage life alongside their professional careers. I wrote that plan, titled ‘Life with Football’, and it was presented to the Football Federation of Australia (FFA). In 2008, the A-league Women’s competition launched and in 2013, with support from the FFA, the PFA launched their Player Development Program. A Women’s World Cup at home in Australia has been the result of decades of hard work and investment of time and energy into the high-performance athletes and their wellbeing.
After witnessing my three young children watch on with extreme joy at both a live game at the Rectangle Stadium here in Perth and the television footage of games across Australia and New Zealand, I can’t help but reflect on how far women’s sport has come. The decision by PFA to invest in programs that help athletes manage their lives alongside an elite performance career has made such a positive impact on the athletes, their families, and the entire sporting ecosystem.
Increased interest and success in women’s sporting events has a positive impact on the athletes, on society, and on the women managing their work, lives, careers, and businesses across the world. Female athletes are resilient, adaptable, and fast learners. They’re problem solvers who can assess a situation, make decisions on the run (literally), and communicate at speed with their team. They are excellent leaders, who manage the complexities of life, alongside the physical, social, and emotional demands of sustainable high achievement - all skills that translate into business.
The business world can learn a lot from athletes and how they play an active role in constantly assessing their physical and mental wellbeing to increase performance. The support structures that have been built into sport over the past 20 years now ensure there are pathways for communication between athletes, coaches, medical, and allied health staff. Athletes are now encouraged to pay attention to all of their liferoles, alongside their performance career, and to be in tune with their physical and mental health.
Seeking help has been normalised and encouraged within the sporting ecosystem, and there are now systems and processes in place to accommodate athlete’s personal needs alongside performance. A highlight example being the nine athletes who applied to FIFA to travel and compete in the 2023 World Cup with their children in tow.
A similar shake-up and investment is needed in the start-up space. Founder Families was established to advocate for the mental health and well-being of founders and their families; to ensure they thrive as elite performers, even during their inevitable times of uncertainty and stress. With a unique insight into elite performance lifestyles and the challenges founders and their families face when managing life alongside scaling companies, Founder Families provides a proactive model of high-performance support for company founders. We are on a mission to normalise the helping model within the start-up ecosystem – a change women’s football has proved is possible at both a national and international level.