Day Off is On: Premier confirms NSW Public Holiday if Matildas win World Cup

As the nation continues to rally around the Matildas on their quest for World Cup history, NSW Premier Chris Minns has confirmed that the state will have a celebratory public holiday if the team can win the tournament on Sunday evening local time.

The Matildas qualified for the semi-finals with their heart-stopping penalty shootout win against France, set to meet England in Sydney on Wednesday night. Should they win, they'll take on the victor of the other semi-final between Sweden and Spain in the final on Sunday night.

Minns has confirmed that a public holiday wouldn't be held on the Monday immediately after the final, but said it would be confirmed within a week of a positive result to ensure a proper celebration and a potential tickertape parade.

“If the Matildas win the semi-final and then win the World Cup Final then yes - we’ll pursue a public holiday in NSW," Minns told 2GB on Monday morning.

"You have seven days to gazette a public holiday and obviously we want to make sure we’re in a situation where there’s enough time, particularly for young people, for young girls to come and celebrate a massive victory.

"It wouldn’t be down the track, it would be within a week.”

The idea hasn't avoided criticism, with some conservative politicians and business groups warning of a possibly-damaging economic impact thanks in part to the penalty rates small and medium businesses may have to pay employees, but these claims - similar to those surrounding the public holiday of mourning when Queen Elizabeth II passed away - have been publicly refuted, with supporters of the public holiday claiming it could in fact lead to an economic boost.

“It’s easy to call for a national holiday when someone else is paying for it. I’m proud of the Matildas and every Australian is - but we’ve got to understand that someone has got to foot the bill. Businesses are doing it tough. We live in a great nation, but we have to pay our bills and make sure the country keeps going," Nationals leader David Littleproud said on the ABC's Insiders program.

What do you think? Do historic sporting achievements deserve a day off for a nation to celebrate? Or is it simply political point-scoring?

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