As the Matildas prepare to take on Brazil in front of a sell-out crowd on Saturday, the focus is firmly on the women's game.
Female players make up around 20 per cent of registered players in Australia, roughly 100,000, and engagement has never been more important.
Speaking at a youth coaching clinic, Matildas attacker Kyah Simon said providing a link between young girls and female professional players was crucial to show them it's not all about the men.
"That inequality has always been there and it still is today. But it definitely is going in the right direction. There's always room to improve," Simon said.
"That opportunity (is) there to play in all teams around the world, to compete in a Champions League, play in professional leagues all over the world, having our Australian domestic W-League here, play at World Cups and Olympics - they're all things that encompass being a professional footballer, whether you're male or female."
The mentality on the pitch is being slowly reflected in the boardroom.
"You can't be what you can't see," said retired Matilda Kate Gill, who now advocates for the women's game through the players' union, Professional Footballers Australia.
"If you don't give women an opportunity to present a voice or provide a pathway to do so, then things aren't going to change," she said.
That change could be just around the corner. FFA has until November to agree on a uniform structural revamp or risk sanction from the world governing body FIFA.
That means giving more stakeholders a say in how the sport is run, and the women's game is in line to benefit greatly.
FFA's congress is set to be restructured and a seat at the table is expected to go the way of women's football.
"It brings a whole new dynamic to the organisation, that female perspective or that gender lens per-se," Gill said.
"Then you're opening it up also to the public. Females are so engrained in our sport, through fans, through mothers and they need to have an accessible voice as well."
That voice seems to be striking the right chord.
Advocates are calling for more female-friendly facilities and additional resources to help W-League players find supplementary incomes during the off-season.
They want a greater share of FFA's $56 million broadcasting rights deal as well as gender-specific research data for female players.
This would complement a landmark minimum wage deal agreed this week for players in the W-League.
Advocates say these are all necessary steps if Australian girls are to aspire to playing for the national team, particularly since Australia has put its hand up to bid for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
