Three years after we first launched the award-winning Football Belongs podcast series, Matilda Emma Checker is our guest and author Fiona Crawford reprises her role in this special bonus episode.

They join series inspiration and author John Didulica and our host David Davutovic as they discuss the revolution that has swallowed Australia throughout the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™. After an earlier episode of Football Belongs about a women's match that never happened - this time we are talking about a match that did happen: Canada v Australia, in Melbourne on 31st July 2023, as well as:

• The (very-much-welcomed) excitement capturing those who would otherwise have looked past the game
• Why the Matildas have emerged as a universally-loved group of players
• The incredible legacy this World Cup is creating - and how we leverage this moving forward
• Can we finally say that football is Australia's national sport?

Edited by Lucas Perry, Optus Sport.

Watch every match of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ live and on-demand on Optus Sport.

Listen to Optus Sport's award-winning limited series: Football Belongs, charting the cultural threads of Australian society through the lens of nine football matches:

Acast: https://play.acast.com/s/football-belongs

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2AzBek8ub2oEsWLYHWetg7

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/football-belongs-australias-football-identity-by-optus/id1543067162

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