Sunday will be an historic day for the Westfield W-League with two live matches being broadcast by separate networks.
Sunday will be an historic day for the Westfield W-League with two live matches being broadcast by separate networks in a rare achievement for women-s sport in Australia.
Fox Sports will broadcast its first-ever Westfield W-League live match when Sydney FC tackle Melbourne Victory from Allianz Stadium in a replay of last season-s thrilling grand final.
ABC1 will also continue its weekly ongoing commitment to the Westfield W-League with coverage of the match between in-form two-time champions Brisbane Roar and the rejuvenated Adelaide United at 3pm on Sunday.
Fox Sports- maiden Westfield W-League broadcast will commence at 2pm on Sunday on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 1HD, with Mike Cockerill and Westfield Matildas and Canberra United midfielder Sally Shipard providing the commentary at Allianz Stadium.
It is the first of two live Westfield W-League matches to be shown by Fox Sports this season with the network also covering the Round 10 match between Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers on 24 January from Suncorp Stadium.
Sunday-s game on Fox Sports is a pivotal match-up with Melbourne Victory currently holding down top spot, while Sydney FC can join them with a win.
The last W-League “Big Blue” ended in a stunning 5-1 win for Sydney FC, who also have two matches in hand after their recent participation in the International Women-s Club Championship in Japan, where the Sky Blues finished third.
The match will lead into Fox Sports- coverage of the Hyundai A-League contest between Sydney FC and a Melbourne Heart side boosted by the return of Harry Kewell.
“This is another major milestone for the Westfield W-League and is a sign of the league-s ever-growing status and impetus,” said Head of Westfield W-League, Damien de Bohun.
“Having two matches separately broadcast by Fox Sports and ABC is a rare, if not unique, event for women-s national league sport in Australia. Football is pleased to be taking a leadership role like this in women-s sport.
“Football is uniquely placed among the codes in Australia, offering an outlet to compete at an elite level for both men and women, which is a strength of our game.
“This is another step forward and more evidence that girls and women can thrive in football from grassroots to the top level.
“Increasing the profile of the league is in keeping with one of the key strategies from our recently released Women-s Football Strategic Plan, which is to develop the Westfield W-League into a world class competition.
“I applaud Fox Sports for their vision in taking this step, and thank both Fox Sports and ABC for their ongoing high-quality support of women-s football.”
Join the conversation on Twitter using #wleague For more information: w-league.com.au