It was an incredible win for the Matildas last night with the home side annihilating Uzbekistan 10-0, catapulting themselves to a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Network 10, who picked up the rights for the Matildas matches back in 2021, wasted no time in celebrating the victory with a very creative use of Mackenzie Arnold’s title.
During a post-match interview with journalist Tara Rushton, goalkeeper Arnold gives a careful rundown of just how she managed to not let a single goal in the net.
Underneath her name, her title appears. But it’s not what you would expect…
Rather than goalkeeper, the title ‘Minister of Defence’ can be seen under her name.
The pun was not lost on fans, with one social media user taking to platform X to describe the move as “genius!”.
One wrote: “Who at @Channel10AU put Minister of Defence under Mackenzie Arnold’s name during her interview is a genius!! #Matildas.”
Who at @Channel10AU put Minister of Defence under Mackenzie Arnold’s name during her interview is a genius!! #Matildas pic.twitter.com/MwS9yMB2x5
— Nat 🐯 (@Natsky1988) February 28, 2024
The landmark game is a win not just for Network 10, but also for Nine who own the rights to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Views for the Matilda’s FIFA 2023 World Cup games were some of the highest ever seen on broadcast TV. The team rewrote the history books last year with a total of 11.5 million Australians watching their game against England.
At the beginning of the year, however, there were fears that the Matildas would not make it to the Paris 2024 Olympics after star player Sam Kerr tore her ACL whilst training for Chelsea.
These fears appear to be unwarranted however with the team storming to victory despite Kerr’s absence.
The Matildas have been gold for both networks and sponsors alike. B&T recently spoke to CommBank CMO Jo Boundy about how sponsoring the women’s team helped the bank build an emotional connection with its audience.
