2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Why is Australian Women’s Football team called Matildas?

Despite being one of the best women's football players, Australia have never gone past the quarterfinals in any of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. More than that, they are called Matildas. Matildas! Why?

The name Matildas was given to Australian women footballers for the first time in 1995, before their first FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign. Earlier, they were called ‘the Female Socceroos,' the nickname used by their male counterparts.

In an attempt to find a new and attractive name for female football players, the Australian Women's Soccer Association (AWSA) held a competition and asked the fans to pick a new name. The options included the Soccertoos, Blue Flyers, Waratahs, Matildas, and Lorikeets. The majority of the people taking part in the competition chose Matilda in reference to the iconic Australian song 'Waltzing Matilda'.




The players were not happy with the name, but the decision was already taken.

The AWSA officially launched a new official song for the team before the Women’s World Cup in France in 2019. Written by Aussie musicians Nina Las Vegas, Ninajirachi, KLP and Kota Banks, the song was titled 'Everything We Ever Dreamed Of'.

The Australian Men’s Football team is still called the Socceroos. The Daily Mirror’s chief soccer writer Tony Horstead coined this term in 1971 and it was adopted the same year. The logo with a kangaroo wearing football shoes was adopted in 1972.

FAQs:

Q1:How the name Matilda was adopted?
In an attempt to find a new and attractive name for female football players, the Australian Women's Soccer Association (AWSA) held a competition and asked the fans to pick a new name. The options included the Soccertoos, Blue Flyers, Waratahs, Matildas, and Lorikeets. The majority of the people taking part in the competition chose Matilda in reference to the iconic Australian song 'Waltzing Matilda'.

Q2:What is the Australian Men’s Football team called and why?
The Aussie Men’s Football team is called the Socceroos. The Daily Mirror’s chief soccer writer Tony Horstead coined this term in 1971 and it was adopted the same year.