We're calling it: from the Olympics to Angel City, it's the year of women's sport

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It’s 2024 and we are back baby! A BIG warm welcome to the very first edition of Level The Field for the year. We hope you had a restful and energising break - there was SO much good sport to watch… we’re still processing that incredible one-handed catch from Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield in the third ODI (One Day International) against India earlier this month. If you haven’t seen the footage, head on over to our Insta feed and take a look, it’s pretty spectacular.

And if you’re wondering what to watch now, don’t worry - the Australian Open is just around the corner. We can’t wait to see so many amazing women carve it up on the court - everyone from Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber to Coco Gauff and current World #1, Polish Iga Swiatek plus a whole host of new names we’re sure to be celebrating in the coming weeks.

In other news, we are all wearing black and veiling our faces in mourning of Sam Kerr’s ruptured ACL. If you somehow managed to miss the news, our fearless captain seems to have come unstuck during a routine winter warm-up training session with her club, Chelsea over in the UK. The devastating, painful and slow recovering injury comes just six months before the Matildas begin their Olympics performance. Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson had this to say: “Considering how hard Sam has worked over the past six months to return to play, this news is a devastating blow for everyone. With her ability to lead by example, Sam's guidance and influence on the team is significant and, as a result, this will be an incredible loss for the national team.”

ACL injuries can often take at least 9 months of rehab and recovery so it’s unlikely Sam will play again in 2024, but fingers crossed. We are sending her all our love and best wishes for a gentle and as easy as possible recovery. In spite of Sam’s injuries, the Matildas are absolutely still poised to qualify for Paris 2024 and we cannot WAIT to cheer them on.

Speaking of which, how lucky are we that we get to write about women’s sport in an Olympic year?!! There’s going to be SO MUCH amazing stuff to cover. Only 199 DAYS TO GO! The countdown is on…

See you soon and happy 2024,

The Missing Perspectives Team xxx

The exclusive: Women's cricket is here to bowl us over after the 'Matildas effect'

“Successful, brave, evolving.” These are the three (very true) words that Alyssa Healy used when Missing Perspectives recently asked her to describe the Australian women’s cricket team. That’s right, we had the opportunity to interview some of the biggest names in women’s cricket while at the Kayo Sports Summer of Cricket launch in Sydney. 

Of course, Sydney Sixes wicketkeeper Healy is one of the most-talked-about players of the sport at the moment, especially as she steps up to captaincy of the women’s national cricket team following Meg Lanning’s retirement last year. 

With it being a huge year for women’s sport, Healy says the ‘Matildas effect’ during the FIFA Women’s World Cup is comparable to the buzz that cricket generated just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

“After the T20 World Cup in 2020, you had 90,000 people at the MCG watching us win a world cup and COVID shut the world down the next day,” she says. “Cricket sort of lost its momentum in that regard. But what the Matildas were able to achieve here and the World Cup as a whole –  what it was able to achieve in Australia in getting fans to the game – I think was a huge step forward in the women's sports sector in Australia. I think that's what cricket can do and continue to build on.” 

“There's so many opportunities to watch the game of cricket on TV, but how do we get the people to the ground and make sure that they're there supporting their team?” she adds. “So that's the next step and the Matildas have shown every sport how to do it, so hopefully we can build on that.” 

Also on the ground to answer our questions was Mel Jones. With career highlights such as playing two successful World Cup and Ashes campaigns with Australia, Jones has remained a fixture in the sport since her retirement from international cricket in 2005, most recently as a commentator. She says one of the keys to ensuring there’s a greater uptake in women participating in sport, and people tuning in to watch women playing, is seeing industry leaders collaborating across the board. 

“Those decision-makers need to make sure that we’re doing it for all of women’s sport and I think that’s what the FIFA Women’s World Cup did [as did the] Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020. A recognition that it’s not just about their one sport. It’s about the broader community.”

Read the full story here.

Psssttt…The Best FIFA Football Awards are next week!

Before we go, we just want to remind you of a BIG event next week - The Best FIFA Awards!! The awards honour the most outstanding members of the world’s most popular sport.

Even better? Our very own Minister of Defence Mackenzie Arnold has been named as one of three finalists for The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper. The award recognises the outstanding keeper in women’s football between 1 August 2022 to 20 August 2023.