By Isabelle Campbell 06/09/2024
Leicester City line up at the Perth International Football Cup. Photo: Rob Lizzi for Impetus
This past week I, along with countless other avid women’s football fans, was in attendance at HBF Park across all three game days of the Perth International Football Cup. Bringing together high-profile teams from both England’s Women’s Super League; West Ham United, Manchester City, Leicester City and France’s Division 1; Paris Saint-Germain.
Although the first of its kind, the tournament generated a lot of buzz from the moment it was announced. The concept of the Perth Cup was conceived as a way to showcase women’s football at the top level in a state that generally (and I speak from personal experience as a Perth resident) misses out on large scale events such as this.
The lineup of participating teams was a huge selling point as all of the clubs involved have their own star players that football fans, myself included, jumped at the opportunity to watch play in person regardless of whether or not their club was participating in the tournament.
With three of the four clubs featuring at least one of our homegrown heroes or Matilda’s.
Originally set to be all four before the announcement of Clare Hunt’s departure from PSG, The event was marketed as a way to see our Tillies playing for their clubs rather than national team.
As someone who was fortunate enough to be in the stands on all three matchdays, I can comfortably say that the games were an interesting watch regardless of having fairly low score lines. The skill and technique on display were unmatched, with several games providing moments that had myself and others around me on the edge of our seats.
Looking beyond the pitch, the atmosphere and community surrounding the cup was a key focus with fans’ enjoyment and engagement made to be of the utmost importance. The city of Perth fully embraced the event, with activities and events for fans including meet and greets and Q&A sessions, as well as opportunities for those within or hoping to enter the business side of women’s football such as the networking luncheon that was held at Crown Perth, there was something for everyone.
The tournament was also a perfect opportunity for the clubs involved to grow their international fan bases. Whilst many of the attendees were likely already supporters of one of the teams, there were also those who attended perhaps out of curiosity or for a cheap evening out and they may have found themselves leaving HBF Park a newfound Hammer or maybe a Cityzen?
By participating in the tournament, teams were able to show off their players to a new crowd live and in person rather than through a television screen or glitchy livestream. This kind of exposure cannot be understated in the quest for worldwide recognition of women’s football.
On a more personal level, being part of this event was immensely rewarding. Watching top-tier women’s football in person (and without the need to hop on a flight across the country) was something I did not take for granted.
Looking back on the very first and possibly only Perth International Football Cup, it’s easy for me to say that this event was something special. For a city such as Perth, where we often aren’t organisers’ top pick for hosting high scale sports events, it was a nice treat to have the opportunity to watch top-level women’s football right in our backyard. As a fan, being in the stands surrounded by people who share the same love and passion for the women’s game was unlike anything that can be experienced via a livestream.
This tournament was never just about the games; yes of course it was a competition and there was ultimately a winner and a loser, but at the core it was about growing the game and extending the reach of women’s football to new audiences. As the final whistle blew on the last game, I felt lucky to have been witness to something that brought so much joy and further proved that women’s football in Australia is only moving forward and has absolutely no intention of going back.
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