The glow from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup has not faded. Sold-out stadiums, record television audiences, and players who became household names across Australia and New Zealand left a mark on the sporting conscience that endures. When the Women's Asian Cup kicks off this weekend on home soil, it arrives carrying the weight of that legacy and the hope of building something just as significant.
For the Matildas, it is a chance to continue reshaping what women's football looks like in this country. For many of the visiting nations, the stakes are more existential: a shot at World Cup qualification, a moment of national visibility, or simply the chance to prove that the investment in their programmes is worth fighting for.
Yet behind the spectacle of a continental championship sits a reality that the tournament itself cannot equalise. According to global player union FIFPro, fewer than two-thirds of women players across Asia identify as professional, with most earning less than $14,000 annually from the sport. Every team may walk onto the pitch on equal terms. Getting there has been anything but equal.
Australia's Group A: Stark Contrasts
The disparities are visible even within Australia's own group. Iran's women's national team carries layers of constraint onto every training pitch. Canadian sports journalist Shireen Ahmed has noted that Iranian players must have male family chaperones to compete internationally, and that without permission from a husband or father, participation overseas can be blocked entirely. Iran's modern women's football programme only began in 2005, and early momentum was stalled by a FIFA ban on the hijab that lasted until 2014.
Goalkeeper Zahra Khajavi told German broadcaster ZDF in 2023 that wearing the hijab in hot or humid conditions can present a slight physical challenge, though she was quick to praise Iran's National Training Centre, shared with the men's team, as a genuine facility strength. Iran plays Australia on the Gold Coast on March 5.
The Philippines, Australia's opening-day opponents, tell a very different story. In 2023, they became one of only nine Asian nations to qualify for a Women's World Cup, famously beating co-host New Zealand along the way. They arrive in Australia having won their first-ever Southeast Asian Games gold and completed an unbeaten qualifying campaign without conceding a single goal, all under Australian coach Mark Torcaso.
The Korean Peninsula: Two Very Different Models
South Korea arrives as reigning runners-up, having knocked Australia out of the 2022 edition. On paper, they are genuine contenders. Off it, the past year has been turbulent. Last year, players signed a collective statement alleging they faced harsh conditions and that the Korea Football Association viewed equal treatment with the men's national team as unreasonable. The statement detailed long bus journeys, economy-class flights, and instances where players paid out of pocket for airport transfers and training kits.
Chelsea and South Korea veteran Ji So Yun told Korean media it felt as though players were not being treated in a manner befitting national team members. An internal Korea Football Association document seen by AFP reportedly showed the women's team received less than ten per cent of the budget allocated to the men's programme. South Korea has since named its squad, suggesting a resolution of sorts, with discussions between the federation and players' association said to be continuing.
Across the border, the picture is entirely different, if not without its own complications. Edinburgh-based sports lecturer Jung-Woo Lee has noted that selection for the North Korean women's national team can transform a family's economic standing, with players reportedly receiving significant compensation and housing in Pyongyang. Training is systematic and scientifically planned, with boarding-style football schools developing players from childhood.
Lee argues that because the women's team has historically delivered more international success than the men's side, it may receive greater investment within North Korea's state sporting system. The results speak to something: North Korea claimed both the most recent U20 and U17 Women's World Cups, and the senior team only narrowly missed the 2024 Paris Olympics after a 2-1 defeat to Japan. UN-imposed sanctions prevent North Korean players from competing in foreign club competitions, yet the team remains one of the tournament favourites alongside Japan and Australia.
South Asia: History in the Making
For India and Bangladesh, simply being here is an achievement. It is the first time in modern history that both nations have qualified on merit. The top six finishers at the tournament earn World Cup berths, something no South Asian nation has ever achieved.
Former Indian national team goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan is cautiously optimistic about India's prospects. The appointment of new head coach Amelia Valverde, who guided Costa Rica to two World Cups, has lifted belief, as has the development of an Indian Women's League. In 2025, for the first time, every Indian women's team at every age level qualified for the Women's Asian Cup.
The pathway, though, is littered with obstacles that have nothing to do with football. Most Indian players are employed by the government because the sport is not yet professional, providing financial stability but creating a difficult balancing act between office responsibilities and international competition. Visa issues forced the cancellation of friendly matches in Macedonia in August 2025. Bangladesh, back-to-back South Asian Football Championship winners, reportedly had domestic matches disrupted in 2025 by protests against women playing the sport at all.
The Bigger Picture
Japan enters the tournament as the highest-ranked Asian nation at world number eight, boasting a fully professional domestic league, the WE League, which launched in 2021 as Asia's first of its kind. Nearly half of Japan's squad play in England's Women's Super League. Denmark's Nils Nielsen coaches the team, with Australian Leah Blayney serving as his assistant.
China, the reigning champion with nine tournament titles, remains a perennial force. Uzbekistan makes its first appearance after a 23-year absence. Vietnam returns for a seventh campaign, buoyed by its debut World Cup in 2023.
What this tournament genuinely shows is how complex the task of growing women's football remains even at the continental level. Some nations face geopolitical constraints. Others face cultural barriers, budget shortfalls, or the grinding challenge of building a professional pathway from scratch. The Asian Football Confederation and FIFA have made commitments to women's football development, but the gulf between the resource-rich and the resource-poor remains wide.
The Matildas will be expected to win. But perhaps the more enduring story of this tournament will be told by the teams who had to fight hardest just to show up. On Saturday, the football begins. The roads that led here were anything but straight.