Cairns nominates for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup training hub

The Far North is already home to several generations of Matildas, but the region could be in line to play a significant role in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup if the joint Australia-New Zealand bid is successful.

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The Far North is already home to several generations of Matildas, but the region could be in line to play a significant role in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is the joint Australia-New Zealand bid is successful.

The Trans-Tasman bid is regarded a strong chance of success ahead of tomorrow morning’s announcement, with Colombia the only remaining rival after Japan withdrew it’s bid earlier this week.

And the home of football in Cairns could play a major part in the international tournament, with the revelation FNQ Football has officially nominated to become a training base for a visiting team.

FNQ Football administrator Alex Srhoj said Endeavour Park would need a security upgrade, but the region ticked “all of the boxes”.

“It would be incredible for the game, it’s hard to put into words what it could do for the women’s game in FNQ,” Srhoj told the Cairns Post.

“We put Endeavour Park forward. We’ve got the fields there, an Olympic swimming pool is a kilometre away and we’ve got access to an international airport.

“We tick all of the boxes, and I think we’re well ahead of other regional areas.”

FNQ has developed a number of Matildas over the past few decades.

Tammie Thornton played 19 games for the Matildas in 1996 and 1997, on top of a club career which took her to English giants Chelsea.

Fellow Stratford junior Alicia Ferguson, who also spent time at Saints, played 66 games for Australia between 1997 and 2007.

Tully product Kim Carroll, who still plays for Perth Glory in the W-League, has notched 55 appearances for the Matildas since 2005.

And former Leichhardt junior Mary Fowler, who has made a handful of appearances for the Matildas to date and narrowly missed out on a game at the World Cup last year, could very well be a regular in the green and gold by the time 2023 rolls around.

Srhoj said he believed the way Australia and New Zealand reacted to the coronavirus pandemic would play into the region’s favour when it came to the decision.

The Trans-Tasman bid received the support of their respective Prime Ministers earlier this week, and is regarded a favourite to get the nod.

The bid received highest overall average score of 4.1 out of 5 and was “the most commercially favourable proposition” in the FIFA Bid Evaluation Report, which was released earlier this month.

Originally published as Cairns nominates for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup training hub