Matildas euphoria is driving a junior girls' participation boom in Canberra, and one club is now scrambling to find enough fields to cater for demand after an almost 300 per cent increase in player numbers.
Woden Valley junior officials have been blown away by the increase interest this year in the wake of the Matildas' World Cup mayhem last year.
For under-10s players Zara Greenaway, Alyssa Cassimatis and Eloise Sabin, this soccer season is a chance to play like their heroes.
"A lot of my friends tried out (this year) because there was a World Cup trend going at school. Everyone liked to talk about it, everyone wanted to be them," Zara said.
"We all played soccer at lunch and recess, and we put up posters with information about the Matildas."
Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler and Ellie Carpenter were among the girls' favorites.
The movement is being dubbed "the Matildas effect", with clubs across Australia reporting a rise in registrations months before the junior seasons begin.
Canberra clubs are enjoying the same benefits, even though the ACT government withdrew from the women's World Cup bid and did not want to pay to host any games in the capital.
Matildas wave hits Canberra clubs
Woden Valley - one of Canberra's largest junior clubs - has watched player numbers in the under-7s and under-9s jump from 108 to 217. As a result, the competition will effectively be four times bigger. Age group vice-president John Coates put the explosion down to three elements.
"We always thought there would be an impact. But the scale of that has blown me away with sheer interest we've had from girls wanting to play football," Coates said.
"And it's not just girls, I think the boys' side has grown as well. We've always been a big club, but this has been very significant and I pretty much put it down to the Matildas.
"I think there were three things at play. The World Cup was here, and there are usually peaks around that. Add to that it was in Australia, and then add the Matildas absolutely crushing it ... all those things together worked."
The wave of interest from both new players and supporters extends beyond the Matildas. The Socceroos - the men's national team - arrived in Canberra on the weekend and will play their first game in the city in five years tonight.
Football Australia officials were initially concerned about the short build-up to the World Cup qualifier against Lebanon, given there was less than a month between the announcement and game time.
But the game's governing body was pleasantly surprised when more than 7000 tickets were snapped up on day one of sales and the attendance is on track to be the biggest standalone soccer game in Canberra's history. More than 20,000 fans are expected to be at Canberra Stadium.
It's also a good sign for the Canberra soccer community's hopes of being granted entry to the A-League Men's competition, with a strong crowd sure to send a message to potential investors in the $20 million licence.
Local facilities fit to burst
The biggest impact, however, is set to be on participation numbers. Soccer is already the capital's largest participation sport and is growing even further off the back of the Matildas' success last year, even if Canberra is unlikely to be able to lure the women's side to the city because of demand in other states.
Woden Valley - which has about 1800 players in total - will need more volunteers and more game times to ensure it can manage the increase in player numbers.
One of the club's bases needs significant maintenance, while more games will put pressure on other existing fields. The government is aware of the issue.
The Woden Valley under-7s age group alone has tripled in player numbers with a month to go before the first game. The under-7s to under-9s cohort has doubled. All age groups at the club - under-7s to under-18s - have jumped 53 per cent compared to last year.
"I've got a daughter myself and to see her and her friends have role models is amazing," Coates said.
"One of the other committee members told us that at a barbecue one of the little boys came up and asked if boys were allowed to play soccer, too. That's what the Matildas have done.
"It's shown that girls can play football and it's going to be an inspiration. A lot of parents are talking about that and their children saying they want to be Matildas.
"And the [new players] are coming from a real cross-section. Some new, some coming back. Everyone is welcome."
Capital Football - the game's governing body in Canberra - has reported anecdotal increases across all clubs, but is waiting for registration numbers to be finalised before working out how many new players have joined the sport this year.
