PLush banquettes, floral prints and pink LEDs – this is not the fabric of your average sports bar. But as Australia’s first women-only sports bar, Ladies League isn’t out to maintain the status quo.

The 80-capacity bar will open soon and is located between Oxford Street’s LGBTQ+ bars, Allianz Stadium and Sydney Cricket Ground. It’s a strategically safe location: there’s a natural overlap between women’s sport and the queer community.

“I feel like I’m providing a space for a group of people who previously felt like they didn’t have a space,” says founder Rose Valente, citing the lack of women’s sporting venues as well as lesbian bars in Sydney. “Whatever you identify with, if you want to watch and enjoy a women’s game, this is the place for you.”

The bar is the real-life version of what began in 2017 as a sports-focused website and online community, also called The Ladies League, founded by Valente. The 34-year-old, who has a background in hospitality and administration, hopes to open in time for the start of the women’s AFL season on Friday. Whenever that happens, she is confident there will be huge demand for it.

“Some women don’t want to be around men watching NRL in a man cave,” says Valente. “I love a man cave, but I’m more into color and comfy chairs.” Her mom even crocheted a set of pillowcases.

The old-school sports bar staples are there: screens on every wall, dim lighting, team merchandise, draft beer and signed footballs. There’s the Alex Chidiac Bench, sponsored by the Matildas and the Melbourne Victory midfielder who contacted Valente to offer her support. A TLL Instagram follower donated a signed Australian women’s cricket jersey. There are jerseys in every colour and code, as well as scarves emblazoned with the flag of Australian football club Sydney Swans and Adelaide United.

In addition, the televisions are amplified.

“Women will still throw glasses at TVs and will riot,” says Valente. “If there is a penalty shootout, I wouldn’t rule anything out.”

Sports broadcasts aimed at women have traditionally been marketed as family-friendly, but this version offers over-18s the opportunity to eat, drink and scream in front of the screen.

“We want to be loud and passionate about the sport we’re watching,” she says. “Women can be quieter, but we still want to have a drink.”

Men are welcome in the league. And if the public wants to see a men’s game, she is open to that. Gaps in the schedule will be filled by repeats of women’s games and she is in contact with Optus about setting up a women’s sports channel. There will be karaoke and quiz nights and perhaps film screenings in the style of the Set Piece Social in London, where the sportswomen are celebrated as much as the spectators.

The league also builds on the success of The Sports Bra in Portland, which was a pioneer when it opened in 2022, and A Bar of Their Own in Minneapolis.

In Australia, the enthusiasm for the Matildas gave Valente the impetus he needed to open the bar: the footballers broke all records a year ago when their semi-final defeat to England at the Women’s World Cup was watched by 11.15 million viewers, making it the most watched television show of all time. At the Olympic Games in Paris, women dominated – 32 of Australia’s 53 medals went to women.

“There’s 100% something going on right now,” says Valente. “Women are strong in the sport and women want to see it.”

But while the Matildas are shown in mainstream bars, netball and basketball are a different story. A Victorian government study released in February found that only 15% of sports coverage in the state in the 2022/23 season was devoted to women’s sport. Men’s sport remains the default show in bars – and on TV – around the world.

“Even if the bar had the right channel (women’s games), the NRL would be on,” Valente says. “You feel like you have to fight to see anything – it’s just not a pleasant experience.”

She remembers the days when football champion Sam Kerr would hand out flyers promoting Perth Glory games. A bit of that spirit is still there – all the merchandise on the walls was donated. Specially designed jerseys were sold through crowdfunding and the names of 145 foundation members are on the wall, one of whom is Young Matildas coach Lean Blayney.

What’s missing – apart from male players – is betting in any form. Valente was contacted by a betting agency, she says, “but I said no. I’m not in the business of selling my soul.”

She’s used to the negative sentiment men have towards TLL on the internet, but it doesn’t bother her anymore – and she’s pretty sure none of those haters will visit the league.

“When I announced the bar, everyone was obsessed with the idea,” she says. “And then everyone immediately told me they needed one in their city.”

For now, though, she’ll be focusing on Sydney and its Swifts, Swans, Flames and FC players and fans. But don’t tell them she supports Adelaide United.