In a sporting first, the Seven Network will broadcast -- live -- one of the two Australian Football League-sanctioned women's curtain-raisers this season: "an August exhibition match between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs," according to Samantha Lane of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The breakthrough, which was not to be formally announced until mid-May, follows a vow from AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan that "the AFL would be more proactive in supporting the historically neglected area of female football." The news "also follows a call last week from Western Bulldogs vice-president and long-time sponsor of women's football, Susan Alberti, for the AFL to lift its game or risk losing female talent to soccer." Though still in the early planning stages from a broadcast perspective, "the women's match will air at 12:30pm live in Melbourne and will also be broadcast nationally on Channel Seven." Only last week, Alberti questioned the AFL's commitment to women's football and said, "Let's just say I believe that far much more could be done. The recognition that these women deserve right here and now is just not happening." Alberti also said that she believes that if the AFL was to achieve its vision of establishing a national female competition by '17 -- McLachlan brought the target in from the initial goal of '20 -- "it may need a dedicated executive on the job." According to AFL research, women's football at Auskick, under-nines, club and school level "has grown in the past year" by about 15%, and it is estimated there are 194,000 participants (SMH, 4/30).
