Matildas players, including injured captain Sam Kerr, will be consulted by Football Australia in the crucial search for the team’s next coach.
Two weeks after Tony Gustavsson’s departure, FA has started the recruitment process for the coach to lead Australia through the next cycle, including the home 2026 Asian Cup, the 2027 Women’s World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
“We need the players involved. That’s important,” FA chief executive James Johnson told AAP.
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“The players don’t make the decisions. We make the decisions.
“But I think the more we can understand the players’ perspective of what went well and what didn’t go well, what they want to maintain, what they don’t (the better), and then it’s for us to decide how much of that is relevant.
“Certainly listening to the players is going to be important, and we’re going to do that.
“But ultimately we will make the call, and we will make the call on what we believe is in the best interest of this team going forward.”
There is no firm deadline, but FA hope to have Gustavsson’s replacement settled within the next couple of months.
Former San Diego Wave coach Casey Stoney and Sydney FC mentor Ante Juric appear potential contenders, while Joe Montemurro is unlikely to be in the mix given he has just started at Lyon.
Getting the best out of 30-year-old Kerr will clearly be crucial.
When asked if the consultation process would include Kerr, who hasn’t been involved with the team since tearing an ACL in January, Johnson said: “Of course. I’m in touch with Sam as we speak.
“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, just an amazing athlete, amazing footballer and we’re very, very proud of her.
“It was obviously very difficult not having Sam in Paris, but we’re connected.
“We can’t wait to welcome Sam back into the team, and yes, she’ll have a very important role to play when I consult with the players moving forward on the new coach.”
Johnson previously consulted senior players after Ante Milicic’s departure in 2020.
He pointed to Gustavsson taking Australia to unprecedented Women’s World Cup and Olympics semi-final berths as evidence of its value.
“The players told me what they didn’t like about the previous four years, then what they did like,” Johnson said.
“And ultimately that was fed into some of our thinking around the appointment of Tony.
“We got it right, so I think he was a coach that the players bought into and that’s why they succeeded.”
Johnson went in to bat for the players after they were labelled “pampered” following their horror Olympics group-stage exit.
He reiterated his support for the Matildas.
“They’re the first ones to stand up and own the fact that the team didn’t go as far as we wanted them to go in Paris. They don’t make excuses,” Johnson said.
“They’re professionals, and they’ll be part of the review. They’re great like that.
“But look, I’ve worked with this team now for four and a half years, and what I can say is we have an outstanding group of individuals.
“They’re great leaders, they’re great role models and they’re winners, and they have a growth mindset.
“So I believe they’ll use the challenges that we had in the Paris Olympics, and they’ll use that experience to learn and get better and grow and set themselves up for success for this next cycle.
“That’s been the feedback I’ve had, and that’s why I will always defend this team and these players – because they’re brilliant, and we need to protect them so that they’re set up for success going forward.”