Overview
2023 was huge for women's soccer in Australia. 2024 mightn't boast the World Cup rolling out Down Under, sadly, but with the Matildas competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, it's still a massive year for fans of the country's national squad. 2023 also brought documentary Matildas: The World at Our Feet to streaming queues, too — and 2024 is following suit there as well thanks to Stan's Trailblazers, which was announced earlier in the year and now has a Tuesday, June 4 release date.
While The World at Our Feet chronicled the current team's path to the 2023 Women's World Cup, Trailblazers is taking a broader look at the Tillies' story and also at women's football in Australia, as the trailer for the doco makes plain. Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Mary Fowler, Ellie Carpenter, Katrina Gorry and Teagan Micah all feature as interviewees — but chronicling the Matildas' journey before their current success is also in the documentary's remit.
If your obsession with the Tillies started in July 2023, this is your chance to dive into the first FIFA-recognised game in 1979, the team's 2015 strike for equal pay and its fortunes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics — and to reflect upon the the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, plus the squad's qualification for Paris. So, you'll hear from and about earlier players, such as first-ever Matildas captain Julie Dolan, alongside Kerr and company.
The Matildas' first Indigenous female player Karen Menzies also features among the discussions, as do fellow past players Melissa Barbieri, Kate Gill and Moya Dodd. Tommy Sermanni, who coached the Tillies from 1994–97 and 2005–12, similarly gets chatting. And, so does ex-Socceroos captain-turned-commentator Craig Foster.
Stan is dropping Trailblazers not only in the lead up to the Paris Olympics, which take place from Friday, July 16–Sunday, August 11, but also just after the Matildas play two warmup friendlies in Australia on Friday, May 31 (in Adelaide) and Monday, June 3 (in Sydney) against China.
Behind the scenes, Maggie Miles (Dare to Be Different) and Maggie Eudes produce, write and direct the documentary — aka your next chance to revel in all things Tillies. If you want to wear green and gold while watching, or the recently released (and soldout) purple Mackenzie Arnold goalkeeper kit if you got your hands on one, that's up to you.
Check out the trailer for Trailblazers below:
Trailblazers will stream via Stan from Tuesday, June 4, 2024.