They Ain't Playin': Matildas Go On Strike Over Pay Dispute

The Matildas aren’t playing around. No, seriously.

Australia’s national female soccer team has withdrawn from an upcoming Sydney camp ahead of U.S. tour, effectively in protest of their low pay.

According to ABC News, remuneration talks between the Matildas and Football Federation Australia (FFA) broke down, leading to the strike.

This year, the Matildas reached the quarter finals of the Women’s World Cup for the third consecutive time.

Despite this, the players have gone unpaid for the past two months.

Professional Footballers Australia chief executive Adam Vivian said their decision to strike had not come lightly.

“The players feel they have been left with little option as the current proposal is simply unacceptable,” Vivian’s statement on the boycott read.

"FFA has failed to recognise the significant sacrifices the Matildas players are forced to make in playing for their country."

This includes taking second jobs to make ends meet; a reality for many of our nation’s underpaid female sportspeople.

A number of the players have spoken up about the strike, with goalkeeper Lydia Williams telling the ABC, “this was an extremely difficult decision to make.”

"However it's simply unfair to continue to expect us to make enormous sacrifices to play for Australia,” she continued.

Current AFC Womens Player of the Year Katrina Gorry expressed her sentiments on Twitter, as did World Cup standout Kyah Simon.

The Matildas male counterparts, the Socceroos, similarly boycotted a signing session in Perth last month over their own pay dispute with the FFA.

Photo from Football Federation Australia.