The Ladies League Is Closing, But It Wasn’t A Failure

This week, Australia’s first and only women’s sports bar closed. The Ladies League was open for five months before the Christmas break, and have cancelled their plans to reopen in the new year.

The announcement of their closure has drawn the most attention the bar has ever received.

News organisations that have never before cared about women’s sports or female owned businesses are suddenly dedicated to ensuring the entire nation knows about the closure of the Ladies League.

Predictably, the trolls have crawled out of the woodwork, insults ready to fling, all laden with misogyny and homophobia.

None of their sexist words are worth repeating, but the trolling has been so intense that the Ladies League was forced to switch their social media accounts to private within 24 hours of the announcement.

Australia loves an Aussie battler – unless they’re a woman

Australia loves to pretend it is a nation of the fair go, of the Aussie battler. We love the underdog, and we love to watch someone be knocked down only to get back up again.

But the one thing we love, more than just about anything, is to laugh at women when they’re down.

It’s impossible to say that the Ladies League closed solely because it only showed women’s sports. To do so would be to ignore the death of Oxford Street, a once thriving queer cultural space that has been neglected by the City of Sydney, and plagued by years of construction and development. Long-established businesses on the strip are struggling to make ends meet.

Café Freda’s, a much-loved Oxford Street café and bar, announced their closure in December, writing on Instagram that lockout laws and the COVID-19 pandemic had gutted what used to be the “epicentre of Sydney nightlife.” They are one of the thousands of Australian businesses that closed their doors in 2024.

The Ladies League may be closing, but it was NOT a failure

The Ladies League may have closed but it was not, by any means, a failure. It was the culmination of years of effort from dedicated hospitality workers and sports fans who believed they deserved a seat at the table.

If anything, the Ladies League proved that there is an appetite for a dedicated women’s sports bar in Sydney – scratch that, Australia. In addition to the many Sydneysiders disappointed about the closure, the venue’s Instagram comments are filled with countless interstaters who’d planned to pop by the Ladies League during a Sydney trip.

The Ladies League made Australian history just by opening its doors, and the electricity it brought to the city won’t be forgotten.

The women behind the bar demonstrate the same dedication, passion, and sheer tenacity that we see in women’s sport, and I’m certain it’s not the last we’ll see of them.