A record-breaking Olympics has shown Australia the power of women's football.
Following on from Tokyo 2020 and the Matildas’ fourth-place finish, midfielder Tameka Yallop spoke to Studio 10 about her Olympic Games journey and on what's next in Australian women's football.
Yallop scored her maiden Olympic Games' goal in our opening match against New Zealand with over 900,000 fans around Australia tuning in to watch.
"It was awesome to score an Olympic goal, that's something you always dream of," Yallop said
"It was a little different playing inside an empty stadium, I let out a cheer of excitement and it echoed back to me," she joked.
Scoring against Trans-Tasman rivals was all too personal for Yallop, with her wife formerly playing for the Football Ferns.
"There was a little bit of excitement back home, but it probably hurt a little bit," she said.
Tameka explained why her maiden Olympic goal was so special, as knowing her young daughter Harley was watching her mother reach her dreams, made the goal and the jubilant celebration all that much sweeter.
She also said that having a young daughter has altered the midfielder's pre-game routine.
"All that stuff has gone out the window for me, I do whatever she's doing and if it's time to go to the game, I've gotta go,"
With the new home of football, Channel Ten and Paramount+, which launched yesterday, Tameka hopes the easy accessibility to Australian women's football will inspire the next generation.
"To have the game in your home, it brings a realisation to it," Tameka said.
"It definitely creates dreams and motivation that seem a lot closer than you might have once thought and I think it's definitely motivational to the next generation."
Yallop is eager to see if her daughter Harley will follow in both her mother's footsteps, with Yallop's wife Kirsty representing New Zealand for 13 years.
"We will definitely let her choose whatever sport she wants,"
"However, she is already attached to her little soccer ball already, so I think she might be heading in that direction," Yallop went on to say
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With the W-League and Matildas game set to air soon on Network 10 and Paramount+, Tameka is excited for what the future holds for young women's footballers in Australia and emerging stars on our shores.
Yallop was asked about which emerging stars to keep an eye on this season.
"We have two players that are coming back from the Olympics that will be playing in it, in Courtney Nevin and Kyra Cooney-Cross," she said.
"The exciting thing is, you don't know who the young and upcoming stars are until you watch, so the main thing is you've gotta watch."
The W-League season is set to kick off later this year, on November 13.
