Darrell KSR
09-10-2015, 11:48 AM
Australia and the Matildas (the name of their team) are on strike, and will not be the featured opponent in the U.S. Women's friendlies in Detroit 9/17 and Birmingham 9/20. My family and I are looking forward to seeing them play, and Australia is a very good world team, which added to the excitement for us.
U.S.W.N.T. recently had a couple of friendlies against Costa Rica where they won 56-0 and 49-14 (ok, 8-0 and 7-2 if you count by 1's), but that kind of game doesn't excite me. In the World Cup, Team USA won a very hard-fought 3-1 match against Australia, and it could go either way; they are that good.
Team USA players earn about $200k each annually in salary. Team Australia players earn about $21k each annually in Australian dollars, which I understand is about $14k U.S. They are seeking to have their salaries doubled, and since their contract ran out in June or July, they have not been paid and are not operating under any contract. So they went on strike.
The matches in Detroit and Birmingham are scheduled to go on with a replacement opponent, but it won't likely be the caliber of Australia. I'm like everyone else, primarily interested in Team USA, but I am definitely disappointed that the opponent won't be a bigger name. It's like going to a Kentucky v Duke basketball game, and then having Duke replaced with a last minute opponent--not likely to be the same caliber. But maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
U.S.W.N.T. recently had a couple of friendlies against Costa Rica where they won 56-0 and 49-14 (ok, 8-0 and 7-2 if you count by 1's), but that kind of game doesn't excite me. In the World Cup, Team USA won a very hard-fought 3-1 match against Australia, and it could go either way; they are that good.
Team USA players earn about $200k each annually in salary. Team Australia players earn about $21k each annually in Australian dollars, which I understand is about $14k U.S. They are seeking to have their salaries doubled, and since their contract ran out in June or July, they have not been paid and are not operating under any contract. So they went on strike.
The matches in Detroit and Birmingham are scheduled to go on with a replacement opponent, but it won't likely be the caliber of Australia. I'm like everyone else, primarily interested in Team USA, but I am definitely disappointed that the opponent won't be a bigger name. It's like going to a Kentucky v Duke basketball game, and then having Duke replaced with a last minute opponent--not likely to be the same caliber. But maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.