It’s been 51 years since 16 Australian soccer players travelled to Hong Kong to compete in the inaugural Women’s Asian Cup, led by the first Matildas team captain, Pat O’Connor.
They wore hand-me-down uniforms from the men’s national team and played for just 60 minutes – as the rules for women dictated at the time – and just six national sides competed.
They also had to fundraise for their airfares to get there.
But while the team finished third, their participation blazed a historic trail for female soccer and marked the beginning of the Matildas’ international adventures.
For Pat, it was a triumphant moment for a group of women who hadn’t imagined they’d ever get to play at this kind of level.
“We were so excited. We enjoyed every minute,” Pat, 84, tells Woman’s Day, of taking part in what is now the world’s longest-running international women’s football tournament.
FIELDING A TEAM
But the women’s participation in the historic event – known officially then as the Asian Cup Ladies Football Tournament – nearly didn’t happen as it clashed with Australia’s national championships, which took part at the same time of the year.
Pat, however, was determined to field a team to take part and in the end, most of the participants came from the St George Ladies’ Soccer Club – now St George FC – that Pat and her coach husband Joe set up in 1968.
“I thought, ‘This is what we’ve been waiting for, it will put us on the big stage and is Australia’s big chance,’” recalls Pat.
Between August 25 and September 3, 1975, the Australian team joined New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
Australia won two games, lost one and drew one but it was New Zealand – aka the first Ferns – who took the gold eventually winning in the final 3-1 against Thailand.
The Matildas settled for bronze.
But there was little recognition when they returned home triumphant.
There were no fans or crowds waiting at the airport to greet and congratulate the Aussie team, and only a few newspapers mentioned their achievement.
“Not many people were interested. Women just didn’t play soccer at that level – or any level – seriously, according to them,” Pat recalls.
Since that first international tournament, the modern-day Matildas have gone from strength to strength, reaching the semi-finals in the 2023 World Cup and winning the hearts of soccer fans across Australia.
This month, the team will take part in the 21st edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
They won against North Korea in 2010 and have taken the runner-up position in 2006, 2014 and 2018.
But whatever happens, Pat will be watching on with pride at how far her beloved sport has grown in popularity.
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
“It really pleases me that I can drive past soccer fields and see young girls and women playing in their own teams,” she says.
“Sometimes I pull over and watch them, loving it, getting exercise and fresh air. And if they want to take it another step forward they can go and try out for their state team.”
Pat won’t miss a game in the upcoming Asian Cup, which continues this week and is being hosted in Perth, the Gold Coast and Sydney until March 21.
“When I go to the Matildas’ games now and I look around at all these young girls waving placards and saying, ‘Go the Tillies’ it’s beautiful,” she says.
“I watch our girls playing the English competition, I watch the Socceroos, I watch the local men’s and women’s competition. I never miss it. Because you know, it became our lives.”
