Australia captain Lisa de Vanna has broken ranks with her teammates, who have resolved to boycott two matches against the US women’s soccer team in protest over pay and conditions.
Australia’s national players’ association said the Matildas had called off their US tour late on Wednesday, but De Vanna told local media she would play if her coach Alen Stajcic called upon her.
“I just want to play for my country. It’s all I want to do,” News Ltd media quoted the 30-year-old striker as saying.
Photo: AFP
“If my coach calls me and asks me to play, I will always make myself available,” she said. “At my age I am not sure if the opportunity to play the world champions will come up again.”
De Vanna was named in the All-Star team for July’s women’s World Cup and her reluctance to go on strike is a hammer blow for the players union’s hopes of a united front in a long-running dispute against the national soccer authority.
News Ltd media said at least another five players had committed to flying to the US for the matches on Thursday next week in Detroit and Sunday next week in Birmingham, Alabama, but declined to name them.
News Ltd is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which holds TV rights for matches in both countries.
The Matildas had already boycotted a training camp ahead of the tour as part of the protracted dispute over a new collective bargaining agreement.
The previous agreement expired in June, and the players union and governing body Football Federation Australia have been at loggerheads since.
“The players are currently uncontracted and are under no obligation to participate in any Matildas related activities,” Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) chief executive Ben Vivian said in a statement late on Wednesday.
About 60,000 tickets had been sold for the two US fixtures.
Federation chief executive David Gallop told reporters the governing body faced a “significant” financial hit if the matches were scuttled.
The federation is also fighting the PFA on other fronts, with the men’s national team and players in Australia’s top-flight A-League competition rejecting offers for pay and conditions.
The men’s team boycotted commercial appearances in Perth, Western Australia, last week in the lead-up to their World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh.
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