What will the Matildas' real legacy be after their FIFA Women's World Cup run?

The Matildas reached further in the World Cup than the men's national team ever have, they're out-selling Socceroos jerseys, they've attracted record broadcast figures, have sold out stadiums, and inspired and united the country.

Green and gold fever swept Australia in a way not seen since perhaps the Sydney Olympics or 2003 Rugby World Cup, though some would argue it surpassed even those iconic sporting moments.

The Matildas still have the chance to claim third-place in their final match against Sweden in Brisbane on Saturday, but as the tournament's end nears, the legacy of the last month will be unpacked.

The big question is what happens when the dust settles on this Women's World Cup?

What will it mean for soccer in Australia, and for women in sport more broadly in the coming years, and will it leave a lasting legacy at all?

For women's sport in Australia, nothing bar Cathy Freeman's gold medal run in 2000 comes close to comparing the reach and significance of the Matildas' 2023 World Cup campaign.

"This had a major cut-through for women's sport generally, and not just in Australia, but around the world," ethics, integrity and equality expert at the University of Canberra, Catherine Ordway said.

"Everyone is amazed about the way the community has embraced this event and the Matildas - everyone is talking about it if you're waiting in line to get a train, or at the coffee shop, or at the laundromat.

"It's just so brilliant. You just see all these little kids that are wearing Sam Kerr jerseys, and they don't care if it's a men's or women's sport.

"It just changes the mindset, and that's been something that we've been working towards for decades, and it's so incredible to reach this point where I think there's no turning back."

Did that really happen? Did the Matildas really prompt the Prime Minister, and the left, right and everything in between to debate the pros and cons of a public holiday if they won?

It did, and nothing comes close to that surreal couple of days, except maybe Bob Hawke's infamous "any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum" line from the America's Cup 40 years ago.

Every politician wanted to get on board the Matildas bandwagon. Sport Minister Anika Wells declared Australia "a football nation", and even the Defence Minister Richard Marles jokingly resigned to hand his position to Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.

But Socceroos legend Craig Foster told The Canberra Times that governments must ensure the momentum of everything the Matildas achieved does not take a backseat after the final on Sunday.

Foster said Football Australia will need to prioritise streamlining its set-up, to have better trickle-down impact when funding is received, and when that is achieved, he expects governments not to forget how the World Cup made them feel.

He warned politicians that he had been keeping "receipts" on those that got behind the Matildas throughout the tournament, and wants them to back up their support beyond this World Cup.

"This nonsense around a public holiday is a furphy," Ordway added on the subject. "What we want to see is actual funding for women's sports so that we see equality.

"We must ask how is it that we can make sure that our women's teams across the board, not just football, are properly funded and resourced."

Matildas hero Kerr said it herself after the semi-final.

"We need funding in our development. We need funding in our grassroots. We need funding. We need funding everywhere," she said.

"The comparison to other sports isn't really good enough. And hopefully this tournament changes that because that's the legacy you leave - not what you do on the pitch. The legacy is what you do off the pitch.

"Hopefully this is the start of something new."

There's a growing feeling that this Women's World Cup will be - and should be - the silver bullet that abolishes the pay gap between male and female soccer stars, but while there is plenty of growth potential, it's unlikely to happen overnight.

And there's also a big difference between what the Matildas get and the $25,000 minimum salary for players in the top domestic competition, the A-League Women.

The upside is the Matildas have the same pay and conditions as the Socceroos in their collective bargaining agreement - which expires this year - however when it comes to FIFA World Cup prize money, they're short-changed.

FIFA have a total prizepool of $170 million for this Women's World Cup, while in Qatar last year the men were awarded $685 million.

Notably at this Women's World Cup players are being paid individually by FIFA for the first time, which accounts for the steep increase on the $45 million total prizepool awarded to the teams' federations at the 2019 tournament.

But there's a gulf that is still hard to ignore, which is what prompted the Matildas to release a video with the players' union days out from their World Cup opener, urging those in positions of power in soccer, politics and business to "make football as big as it can be".

It was a call to FIFA, broadcasters, sponsors and commercial partners that contribute to the revenue of World Cups to step up.

There's a few parties that'll be feeling some pressure to make pay parity happen, mainly being FIFA, national federations, club leagues, and broadcasters and sponsors domestically and internationally.

For the Women's World Cup, Seven paid a bargain price of just under $5 million for broadcasting rights for 15 games, reaping record television and streaming reach in Australia of over 17 million people - so far.

It's the first year FIFA has sold the women's tournament's broadcasting and commercial rights separately to the men, when previously it'd been bundled up together as a package.

Both the broadcasting and commercial value is expected to increase for the Women's World Cup after this edition, ergo increasing pay, with global broadcasting results proving there is demand for women's soccer.

However Ordway highlighted that the format needs improvement, with FIFA not allowing commercial partners the same amount of time to capitalise on their Women's World Cup rights investment, as they do in the men's game.

"What they do to undermine the women's side of the game is they offer the opportunities around the Women's World Cup in a much shorter timeframe than they do the men," she said.

"The men's World Cup bidding process is longer, so as a sponsor and broadcaster you've got much more time to leverage those rights. But with the Women's World Cup, they only give you three years.

"Once you know who the host nation is, it gives you a really short timeframe to negotiate with sponsors, broadcasters, and licensees and so on, which means they've got less opportunity to make money.

"It's systematic discrimination from FIFA."

Last October, FIFPro, the global soccer players' union, sent a letter to FIFA signed by 150 women's national team players calling for equal prize money at World Cups.

FIFA have claimed they aim to reach pay parity by the next Women's World Cup in 2027, but there's little detail how that will be achieved.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino's reaction to the Matildas' pre-tournament video suggested as much too.

"Until the 20th of August [the final], you will hear from me only positive things," he said last month. "If somebody's still not happy about something, well I'm sorry. I'm happy with everything and I love everyone."

At the moment the men's World Cup generates significantly more ($7.5 billion in Qatar) than the women ($760 million in the last Women's World Cup).

That value is higher partly because FIFA reported five billion watched the Qatar World Cup globally, and for this Women's World Cup, they're estimating a record worldwide audience of 2 billion. There's a difference there which impacts value, but not enough to explain the huge revenue gap.

The encouraging fact for broadcast and commercial partners is that there is still so much room for growth for women's soccer, with many nations still yet to fully embrace it like the men's game.

In France for instance, for the quarter-final against the Matildas there were 5.4 million viewers, whereas for the Qatar World Cup quarter-final between France and England there were 17.7 million watching.

The rapid progress within the last decade alone in women's soccer suggests the value will undoubtedly increase from here.

It's unlikely that the Matildas' Women's World Cup performance will instantly see A-League Women crowds sell-out in the upcoming season starting in October.

But Football Australia and the Australian Professional Leagues are banking on support to get a positive bump. It's the easiest way that any Matildas fan during this World Cup can continue women's soccer's rise.

In their pre-tournament video addressing how far they'd come in women's soccer, Matildas stars urged the public to keep the momentum going beyond the August 20 final.

That's because they know at international level they're far better paid than at club level, especially in Australia, despite the A-League Women being the breeding ground for Matildas superstars.

"Our sisters in the A-League Women's are still pushing for football to be a full-time career, so that they don't have to work part-time jobs like we had to," Cortnee Vine, from Sydney FC, said in the video.

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Like most players her age, Kerr used to have to play two leagues a year to make a full salary, in Australia with Perth Glory, and in the US.

But now she plays for just one club, earning $600,000 a season with English club Chelsea, and endorsements push her income beyond an estimated $3 million, making her the highest-paid Matilda.

Part of that sort of money boost in England comes from their women's national team's success at the European Championship, which the Lionesses won last year.

The well-publicised flow-on effect has put a spotlight on England's domestic competition like never before, and it's a blueprint for what can happen for the Matildas after this World Cup too.

"It's just been incredible, the movement in Australia for football," Matildas star Katrina Gorry said after their defeat to England.

"It's pretty special to be a part of this group, and to be a part of the shift in football in Australia, but also women's sport."

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