Matildas expressed their anger at the State Government’s reluctance in bidding for the 2023 FIFA women’s World Cup
The State Government will consider a last-minute plea for SA to be part of Australia’s 2023 women’s World Cup bid as players, fans and officials reacted angrily to a decision to rule out Adelaide as a potential venue.
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A last-ditch official pitch for Adelaide to host 2023 women’s World Cup games will be considered by the State Government as top players, fans and officials lashed the decision not to join the Australian bid.
The cream of SA’s women soccer players are angry and dumbfounded by a decision to rule out Adelaide as a venue if Australia wins its bid to host the 2023 World Cup.
Cross-code star Jenna McCormick – a dual Crows AFLW premier, a W-League premiership winner with Canberra United and an Adelaide United player of the year – was stunned but Football Federation Australia has not closed the door on SA.
State Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister David Ridgway on Monday revealed to The Advertiser Hindmarsh was inadequate for international games and Adelaide Oval was off limits because of disruption to the AFL season. But Football Federation Australia has written to the State Government, seeking to restart talks about the bid.
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Football Federation SA also wants to be considered as a training venue for some of the 32 nations at the tournament.
Football Federation SA chief executive Michael Carter said the economic and social benefit for SA from hosting the women’s World Cup was estimated at $44 million.
He said FIFA had advised of changes to bidding requirements following expansion in participating team numbers from 24 to 32.
“The revised hosting requirements will be provided later this month, at which time FFA will re-engage with the South Australian Government,” Mr Carter said.
Mr Ridgway’s spokeswoman said: “The State Government would be happy to look at FIFA’s revised hosting requirements when they are available.”
McCormick – on the verge of earning a call up to the Matildas for this year’s FIFA women’s World Cup in France after a standout season with Brisbane Roar and the Adelaide Crows – said: “This is really disappointing coming from Adelaide, Knowing how much the SA public gives to soccer and most young girls aspire to play for the Matildas.
“I think a lot of girls will be very upset and that’s pretty unfair – we cop it with musicians that don’t want to come to Adelaide and I think having it at Adelaide Oval would have been perfect; we would have filled it up and brought a lot of tourism.”
McCormick is playing for Fulham in SA’s women’s national premier league, having sacrificed AFLW to concentrate on a soccer career. She has never seen the Matildas play in Adelaide neither has once-capped former Port Pirie-based Emily Condon, 20. The national women’s team last featured in SA in 2006.
Condon, an Adelaide United and Salisbury Inter WNPL midfielder, is also dumbfounded by SA’s stance against the game. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where Australia could get to host it,’’ she said.
Hindmarsh has a relatively limited capacity of 16,500, has two rather than the required minimum of four changerooms and would require upgrades to floodlighting, corporate, media and its VIP facilities.
Adelaide Oval has been ruled out because of disruption to the AFL.
Mr Ridgway on Monday told The Advertiser the decision 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.
“Furthermore, the process did not provide any certainty around which countries would play at Adelaide Oval, nor an ability to secure games beyond quarterfinal matches,” he said.