When Australia co-host the World Cup in July, almost half of the Matildas squad are likely to come from the Women’s Super League.<\/span><\/p>\n It is 11 years since Australians first featured in the WSL, and many of the nation’s current players have been moving to English clubs, including the likes of Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord to Arsenal, and Manchester City forward Hayley Raso.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But what’s driving this influx, how is it affecting Australia’s national side, and how popular is the WSL in the players’ homeland?<\/span><\/p>\n The attraction of the WSL to overseas players is obvious – a full-time professional league, impressive facilities and demanding daily training sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s so advantageous for me as a player to be in this environment, training full-time at a high level,” Clare Wheeler, the Australia midfielder who <\/span>joined Everton on a permanent basis<\/span><\/a> in January, tells BBC Sport.<\/span><\/p>\n “The calibre of players makes it very exciting and the environment of choice for a lot of us.”<\/span><\/p>\n Time zones and distances can pose issues, with daunting flight times to play international games, as well as short windows of opportunity before training and at night to chat with friends and family in Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n Those are surmountable challenges, though, in return for playing in one of the only full-time professional women’s leagues in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n “It means players have a full calendar year of football that they can build their lives around,” explains Australian football writer Samantha Lewis.<\/span><\/p>\n “Before that, most Australian players had to juggle playing in multiple shorter leagues, such as between Australia and America, in order to make ends meet and maintain year-round fitness.<\/span><\/p>\n “That back-to-back league schedule often led to players sustaining injuries or simply burning out because they never got a proper break.<\/span><\/p>\n “The WSL offers the kind of competition format that male players have been afforded for decades, where players work as full-time professionals.”<\/span><\/p>\nA competitive edge<\/h3>\n
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