Melbourne City's maiden Asian Women's Champions League campaign has flown under the radar somewhat due to the entire group stage taking place in the space of a single fortnight last October, with the City girls winning all three of their Group B matches in front of sparse crowds at BG Stadium in Pathum Thani, Thailand.
The three-time A-League Women winners were drawn to face Chinese Taipei's Taichung Blue Whale FC in a single-leg quarter-final tie to be played at AAMI Park on March 23, earning hosting rights as group winners.
It is the first time that either of Melbourne City's men's or women's teams have progressed beyond the group stage of an AFC Champions League and City captain Rebekah Stott is especially excited for how the momentous occasion could inspire future generations.
"Having international club football in Australia, especially in Melbourne, is something that hasn't been done before, so it's super exciting," Stott told reporters outside AAMI Park this week.
"You see everyone getting around the Matildas and this I think offers (spectators) a different kind of football.
"I grew up watching the UEFA Champions League, and back then there wasn't a women's competition, so to have our own continental Champions League is really special and something I didn't know was possible.
To have little girls be able to watch us play in our own competition is really cool and gives them something to stride towards."
The AFC Women's Champions League also offers City's playing squad a rare opportunity to secure a lucrative financial windfall, with individual bonuses for players of the tournament winners reportedly in the vicinity of $50,000.
The average salary of the current A-League Women's player is around $30,000, forcing most players to balance their football careers alongside other midweek work.
For striker Holly McNamara, who has scored seven goals since returning from a long-term ACL injury, the cash is not on her mind.
"I don't really care about the money. If I cared about the money, I wouldn't be playing about football. Whatever prizemoney you can get is nice.
"It'll be exciting to see how many people come out to watch us and to do it in one of the best stadiums in Australia is unreal."
Her captain, however, sees things differently: "It's special, especially for women's football, it's quite huge. It's kind of like a carrot dangling in front of you and it's really good for women's football.
"I've been playing professionally for more than 12 years now. Back in the day I wasn't earning much money at all, and to finally have a financial reward like that is huge to see how much the women's game has grown."
The winners of the 2025 AFC Women's Champions League will also advance to the inaugural edition of the FIFA Women's Champions Cup, announced this week, which will feature all six continental champions in a Confederations Cup-style bracket.