Matildas take centre stage as AFL fans get on board with screenings of World Cup win | OneFootball

Tens of thousands of AFL fans around Australia were captivated by the Matildas’ shootout victory over France on Saturday night after an 11th-hour push to screen the match inside stadiums that required sign-off from Fifa.

But Optus has criticised the AFL and stadium operators for the timing of last-minute licence applications to show the game inside the ovals, saying their staff lost sleep in the past few days due to the workload.

The match was broadcast at the MCG, SCG and Optus Stadium in Perth while fans were attending AFL games at the venues that overlapped the Matildas’ marathon shootout victory.

Clive Dickens, vice president of content at Optus, said the AFL and the venues should have had the “foresight” to have plans in place earlier.

“Even though the event has been organised for two years, and the public viewing strategy has been administered by a professional team for over four months, each of those stadiums only contacted us on Thursday, which meant that everybody had to work day and night to make sure all of Fifa’s conditions were met,” he said.

Dickens said Fifa’s approval was required due to the proximity of the broadcast with non-World Cup sponsors, which made the turnaround even tighter.

“Turning these things around in three days I’m sure anyone can understand is quite the momentous task and many people didn’t sleep to make that happen,” he said.

Traditionally the AFL has been reluctant to aid the growth or exposure of football. In 2010, negotiations over access to stadiums for Australia’s 2022 men’s World Cup bid was protracted. The AFL was also not prepared to provide access to the MCG or Marvel Stadium for the period of eight weeks required for this year’s tournament.

That made the sight of fans inside the MCG, enthralled by the Matildas’ shootout playing on screens inside, highly unusual.

The clash between Carlton and Melbourne was at quarter-time when Cortnee Vine stepped up to take the winning penalty.

At Optus Stadium in Perth the shootout was broadcast on the big screen just before the start of the derby between the Eagles and the Dockers.

Fans inside Sydney’s Stadium Australia waiting for the start of the England v Colombia match were not shown the Matildas game. It meant thousands watched at live sites or bars – or on their phones – around the ground before streaming through turnstiles after the final penalty.

Dickens said although Optus received a fee from each venue for each licence, it was set at a level to cover the company’s costs.

“When it came down to getting these things up and running quickly, it’s not a large amount of money,” he said. “It was really about making sure that we could cover the costs of making sure we could install and get the broadcast playing on those big screens.

“But most importantly, getting to as many sporting fans as possible on what turned out to be an incredible historic moment.”

Optus also confirmed that if the Matildas were to lose against England in the semi-final on Wednesday, the third-placed playoff on Saturday evening would be broadcast by Channel Seven and be free to watch on Optus Sport.

That match clashes with Channel Seven’s coverage of St Kilda v Geelong at Marvel Stadium.

Header image: [Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images]