The First Matildas is the story of the women who played for Australia in the Asian Cup Ladies Football Tournament held in Hong Kong in 1975. Australia took part along with teams from Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand. The tournament, which was the forerunner to what is known today as the Asian Football Confederations Womens Asian Cup, was won by New Zealand with Australia placed third. It was a turning point for womens football in Australia. Author and academic Greg Downes speaks with many of the women involved in the 1975 championship, as they tell their story in their own words of how they came to wear the green and gold of Australia for the first time, and the lasting pride they have in doing so. The First Matildas is a fitting testament to the enduring legacy of the 16 women who formed the squad which will continue to inspire future generations of players for years to come.
reg Downes became interested in women’s football (soccer) due to the involvement of his youngest daughter Caitlin. Greg was involved in many roles over the years his daughter played club, school, and regional representative soccer in northern NSW with the Byron Bay club. He has been both clubs- and representative-team manager, club treasurer, regional-committee member, supporter, and general dogsbody. As a parent, Greg became aware of the many injustices and discriminations faced by young girls and women in their pursuit to play the game. During this time he became involved in the fight to make his daughter’s involvement in soccer an inclusive one. While studying for his Masters, Greg used examples of these injustices faced by women involved in football as topics for his research. He came to realize that little or no research had been done on the history of women’s football in Australia. The voices of the women were unheard and were yet to be written into the history of the game. Greg’s Ph.D. research topic, An oral history of women’s football in Australia, addresses this shortage of knowledge by asking the question – ‘What can the oral history of women who played and play the game of football contribute to the understandings of gender and football history in Australia?’ Greg plans to use the research to recognize the pioneers of the game in Australia and to acknowledge the sacrifices they made in order for them to play a game they loved. Dr. Greg Downes is a sessional academic and completed his Ph.D. thesis in 2016 with Victoria University, in Melbourne Australia. Greg currently writes, teaches, and researches women’s sports history, sport management, and human services. Greg lives in Lennox Head on the far north coast of NSW Australia.
