Niamh Owens

When the Matildas wrapped the Home World Cup, those players headed back to their clubs in Europe, their clubs in the UK, in the United States.

The players were all developed here in Australia in the A-Leagues, but they don't play here anymore.

But by the end of that Turquoise game for the Socceroos, there were six A-League players on the field for Australia.

If some of the players that become household names in this tournament then come back to Sydney FC, Melbourne City, then all of a sudden one of those missing links is there.

So the question then becomes, can the powers that be get their acts together to really capitalise on the opportunity that that presents?

Have lessons been learnt from the Women's World Cup?

We'll see, but I hope so.

Yeah, to keep the momentum going.

Yeah, and to recognise the quality of players that are being developed in the A-Leagues, in both the men's and the women's A-Leagues.

I mean, I think there's a lot that we can be proud of with our local league.

I think communication hasn't been great between Football Australia and the APL.

that's an area that really needs to improve.

We need football as a sport to be working together to really grow the game because we see at a community level, at a junior club level, it is the biggest sport in Australia that has the most participants at that junior level.

What happens to them then, Sam?

Where do they go?

Why do they end up only supporting rugby league or only supporting AFL and we lose them

to the World Games.

So I think trying to develop and continue that connection to football that we see people love and enjoy during the World Cup, trying to take that into the next A-League season is a really big challenge.

Yeah, sure is.

It sure will.