The sport has a high level of participation in the country both recreational and professional.

Football Australia is the national governing body of the sport in Australia, organising the A-League Women, the Australian women's national team, and the nine state governing bodies of the game, among other duties.

They came up with several recommendations regarding what sports were and were not appropriate for girls to play based on the level of fitness required.

It was medically appropriate for all girls to be able to participate in, so long as they were not done in an overly competitive manner, swimming, rowing, cycling and horseback riding.

Women's sport organisations had largely remained intact and were holding competitions during the war period.

Afterwards the Australian Sports Commission started to give the annual $1 million funding to the Australian Women's Soccer Association, who launched the Women's National Soccer League, started to promote the national team, nicknamed "Matildas".

The Australian Institute of Sport also started to offer female soccer scholarships.

In the W-League's first year in competition, it managed to attract a number of international players including ones from Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Sweden.

[19] In the league's third season, international players competed from countries including New Zealand, Taiwan, Denmark and Canada.

[22] These players include Sharon Black and Alison Forman who formerly played in Denmark; Stacey Stocco, Joanne Peters, Cheryl Salisbury, and Dianne Alagich, who formerly played in the United States;[22] and Caitlin Foord, Samantha Kerr and Hayley Raso, all currently playing in the FA Women's Super League Girls can get anything they want out of soccer.

[23] The team gives female athletes opportunities to play in high level competition.

[27] Their next Olympic appearance did not come until the 2016 Games, in which they advanced to the quarter-finals and lost there on a penalty shootout to the host Brazil.

[29] The Matildas qualified for the first time as an AFC member in 2007, and had their best finish to date in the competition.

The Matildas made it to the semi-final, finishing 4th ahead of France (5th), but behind Spain (1st), England (2nd) and Sweden (3rd).

[citation needed] The Young Matildas are Australia's women's national under-20 team.

[31] The team was established when FIFA announced that the U-17 Women's World Cup would be launched in 2008.

Football Australia, with Sarah Walsh heading up their women's football division, aims to achieve gender parity by 2027, but there are obstacles and challenges to women entering the sport at grassroots level.

[36] A video featuring 23 Matildas was released just before the tournament began, aiming to spread the message that women in other countries deserve parity in pay and conditions.