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Headlines in Canberra's news outlets earlier this week all sung from the same songbook.
"Canberra United has been saved," they read.
But had it really?
For months, the future of Canberra's beloved – and only – professional football club was in serious doubt after its governing body said it didn't have enough money to field a team next season.
That was until the ACT Government gave an additional one-off payment of $200,000 to Capital Football to keep the team alive for season 17.
The announcement was welcomed with open arms — but for many it raises more questions than answers.
How does this funding compare to Canberra's other clubs?
The additional payment brings the total government funding for Capital Football to $420,000 for 2024 alone.
When next year rolls around — and Capital Football is hopefully not in such a dire financial situation – the funding was likely to return to its original $250,000 until the current agreement ended at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Keep in mind that just under a year ago, funding was half that amount.
When you compare it to Canberra's other major sporting teams like the Raiders, Brumbies and even the adopted Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants, the disparity is obvious.
Let's start with Canberra's most popular professional club – the Raiders.
The ACT Government gives the Raiders $2.6 million for both the NRL and NRLW teams, per year.
It's unclear how much of that money is spent on the women's team alone, but when it was announced they'd join the competition in 2023, the government raised the funding by $300,000.
Then there's the ACT Brumbies – who also field both a men's and women's team.
In 2022, the government announced it would invest $1.78 million per season to the Brumbies to help its long-term viability.
Perhaps the most surprising figures comes from the amount of government money spent on the GWS Giants AFL club, which – as the name suggests – resides in Western Sydney.
Two years ago, the Giants signed a 10-year, $28.5 million partnership with the ACT government to bring at least three men's and two women's AFL games to Manuka Oval each year.
That's a whopping $2.58 million per season, a mere $2.33 million more than the average Canberra United and Canberra Capitals funding.
This season both Canberra United and the Canberra Capitals had 10 home games, so $25,000 each.
'Inequality' of funding for women's sport
When asked about the comparison with Canberra's other sporting codes, ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry said more needed to be done.
"[There is] over 40-years of men's sport being funded over women's sport, so there's a big gap that we have to decrease," Minister Berry said.
"There is a massive gap of inequality there that we need to bridge so we're starting with the Canberra United team right now.
"There's more work to do, I'm not sort of suggesting that we've done enough."
So why didn't the government offer a bigger figure?
"Capital Football wrote to us and said they need $200,000, so that's what we've offered," Ms Berry said.
"We're not just throwing money willy nilly.
"At the moment, there are caps on wages and conditions for Canberra United players so throwing money at them that they don't need wouldn't bring the outcomes that we want."
Sue Read is a former Matilda and the founder of the 'Save Canberra United' group. She has raised more than $77,000 for the club.
She saw similarities to when she used to fundraise for the Matildas, just so they could play.
"When I was playing, we were selling raffle tickets and chocolates and it feels like we're doing the same thing," Ms Read said.
"It feels like it was good training for what we're still doing now."
Whats the future?
While the additional funding kept the team on the football field next season, Capital Football's financial woes were far from over.
CEO Samantha Farrow said the organisation still had a shortfall of $200,000 and the current funds would only cover the bare necessities of running the team.
"What I'm trying to do is that we can implement some new ideas around the changes to the sponsorship packages, some additional membership options, this new shirt that we're excited to release," Ms Farrow said.
"We're hoping that will then help go towards the shortfall."
Of course, the other option – aside from selling t-shirts – is getting an A-League men's side up and running, which would give the women's team financial backing.
But Farrow said she wasn't sure where that bid was at.
"I'm hopeful it's still coming … I'm hopeful that for season 25/26 there will be a more professional outfit that is better suited to run Canberra United into the future," Ms Farrow said.
"It's difficult because we're not part of the bid, so we're not on the inside knowledge."
The minimalistic budget included the minimum salary cap of $500,000 for the entire squad, which works out to be around $25,000 per player per season.
Other A-League women's teams that are more financially stable could pay their players up to $600,000.
Because of this, Canberra United's current stars – like Michelle Heyman – would seriously consider the multitude of offers she's received from teams not only in Australia but over the world.
That is fair enough, given Heyman's recent form for the Matilda's and that the 35-year-old may be nearing the end of her career.
Meanwhile, other up-and-coming stars – like the three Canberra United players in the young Matilda's team – could look to sign multi-year deals elsewhere.
Then we still expect our girls in green to make finals, which is a tough ask for a team that's running on the smell of an oily rag.