Hindmarsh Stadium will be SA’s host venue if Australia wins bid for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
Despite withdrawing from the bidding process in August, the State Government has today declared it will re-enter the race to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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The State Government completed its 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup backflip today after it had copped a public backlash for withdrawing from the bidding process in August.
Premier Steven Marshall announced on Tuesday SA would bid to host the single biggest women’s sporting event in the world on the afternoon of the Matildas facing Chile at Hindmarsh Stadium.
And if Australia wins the bid, Football Federation Australia (FFA) confirmed all matches in SA would be played at Hindmarsh Stadium, which needs upgrading to be FIFA compliant to give the venue the potential to win group stage and knockout matches.
This comes after Tourism Minister David Ridgway told The Advertiser in August the decision to withdraw from the World Cup bid followed “a comprehensive event analysis” and stadium “challenges”.
Displacing hundreds of thousands of AFL fans for at least six weeks would be prohibitively costly and impractical, he said, referring to Adelaide Oval as being a potential World Cup venue.
Marshall later that month confirmed SA would like to be part of Australia’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and was working for a better deal, more than two years after vowing to back the bid if the Liberals won the state election.
FFA chief executive David Gallop said SA’s fresh bid proved how popular the Matildas are.
“I’m sure the South Australian public will be absolutely delighted that Premier Marshall shares our vision and will bring matches to Adelaide should we be successful in our bid,” Gallop said.
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SA now joins Queensland, which pledged $11 million, and NSW in officially announcing their bids.
Hindmarsh Stadium would need minor works to appease FIFA including temporary seating to increase the venue’s 16,500 capacity, better lighting, plus corporate and media facilities.
SA would also have to provide FIFA-standard grass training grounds for competing nations.
If successful, Hindmarsh Stadium would be hosting its fourth global major event.
The venue staged the 1981 and 1993 FIFA U-20 World Cup and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games international matches.
This year’s FIFA women’s World Cup in France broke numerous records for women’s sport.
FIFA announced 1.12 billion viewers watched coverage of France 2019 on TV at home, on digital platforms or out-of-home, and 993.5 million watched on TV alone, while 481.5 million accessed coverage on digital platforms.
The World Cup final between the US and the Netherlands (2-0) was seen live by more than 260 million viewers and the average live match audience more than doubled from the 2015 edition in Canada.
Nine countries, including Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, have already bid for the showpiece, which will be increased from 24 teams to 32 teams.
FFA announced its plans to host the biggest women’s sporting event in 2017, and launched its bid campaign earlier this year after a $5 million commitment from the Federal Government to secure the hosting rights.