Australia chief hits back at ‘pampered’ Matildas narrative after women footballers exit in group stage

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has hit back at suggestions that the women's national team are "pampered", amid intense scrutiny following their group phase elimination at the Paris Olympics.

The Matildas were expected to challenge for a medal after finishing fourth at Tokyo in 2021 and reaching the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup on home soil last year.

However, losses to Germany (3-0) and the United States (2-1) either side of a frantic 6-5 win over Zambia saw them miss out on a place in the quarter-finals. Colombia and Brazil went through as the two best third-placed teams.

Former Australia men's international Robbie Slater, writing in a column in The Australian newspaper on Aug 3, said the Matildas had been "pampered" in recent years.

"The narrative of pampering is very disappointing to hear," Johnson told reporters on Aug 4.

"The reality is, we set the Matildas' programme up the same as what we set the Socceroos up.

"These are a great group of women, they're great footballers, they play at the biggest clubs in the world, and quite frankly they deserve to have a programme as good as the Socceroos.

"The reality is, if you compare ourselves to the United States women's programme, they're investing 300 per cent more than what we're doing," he added.

"They're not being pampered, they're being treated like professionals."

Australia went into the Olympic tournament without talismanic captain Sam Kerr after the Chelsea striker was ruled out due to a long-term knee injury.

Football Australia announced after the team's elimination that coach Tony Gustavsson's four-year contract had ended by mutual consent. REUTERS