Airdate: Beyond The Dream: Matildas: The Rise

In the next Beyond The Dream sports special, produced by 60 Minutes, the Matildas face their biggest battle yet.

In the lead up to the Olympic Games, Matildas: The Rise, showcases exclusive access and interviews with the team that captured the nation’s hearts.

Presenter Amelia Adams said, “Spending time with these remarkable women, it quickly became clear how and why they’ve become such a formidable force in world football. It was a privilege to film and spend time with the Matildas, and to see how their legacy is inspiring a new generation of Australian girls into the world game (including my own 7 year old daughter, also named Matilda, among them).”

The Matildas will open their Olympic Games campaign, before the Opening Ceremony, on Friday, July 26 from 3.00am (AEST).

Presented by 60 Minutes’ Amelia Adams, sitting down with some of the biggest names of the beloved Australian women’s football team including senior players Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Lydia Williams, goalkeeper Teagan Micah and one of the youngest in the team Charli Grant to share their incredible personal stories and journey. We also go behind the scenes, with exclusive access, into the Matildas inner sanctum, their training camp in Florida, USA with a look into their preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games.

They share their stories of determination, willpower and self-belief from growing up having to join and play in boys teams, the careers they forged, friendships they’ve formed, fighting for recognition and the battle for equality. Throughout it all they never gave up, becoming closer than ever as a team, and it all paid off at last year’s World Cup on home soil where they became Australia’s sporting heroes. Now they’re in their biggest battle yet, hungry for a medal with all eyes on Paris 2024.

Steph Catley will lead and captain Australia’s women’s football team in Paris, as both her and Foord will become three-time Olympians, with goalkeeper Teagan Micah returning for her second Olympic Games. Veteran and goalkeeper Lydia Williams will retire from international football following these Olympic Games, with the 35-year-old to finish her international career as the Matildas’ longest-serving player after an incredible 20 years with the national team.

The Matildas are set to enter Paris off the back of Australia’s best-ever finish in Olympic Games football, after narrowly missing out on the podium finishing fourth in Tokyo 2020. Drawn in Group B with a pool against former Olympic gold medallists and powerhouses USA and Germany along with Zambia. The Matildas will open their Olympic Games campaign, before the Opening Ceremony, on Friday, July 26 from 3.00am (AEST) on Nine’s Olympic Games coverage.

Adams also speaks with former, and longest-serving, Matildas coach Tom Sermanni. He was at Australia’s helm for 12 years, including the introduction of women’s football as an Olympic sport in Sydney 2000, and gave debuts to some of the most recognisable faces of today’s national team, including Catley, Foord, Williams and many more. Sermanni reflects the many memorable moments of the team’s remarkable journey to success and his own instrumental influence in the team’s development, “I feel privileged to have been a part of it.”

In addition we hear from Caitlin Foord’s older sister Jamie, sharing her memories growing up with her sister, including watching on in her early days in primary school against the boys, “she was playing with kids nearly two years older than her, I would watch, they were older than her and bigger than her but she was better than them. She really showed the boys up.”

Beyond The Dream goes beyond the headlines to discover the untold stories that led to some of the greatest Olympic and Paralympic moments. With unprecedented access, this brand new documentary series will capture the raw spirit of some of the greatest athletes of all time.

Beyond The Dream | Matildas: The Rise is produced by 60 Minutes for the 9Network.

7:30pm Tuesday July 16 on Nine.